


Where You Belong

by I_Dont_Like_I_Obsess



Series: Lexi's Series [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Real World, F/M, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Suspense, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-08
Updated: 2017-02-21
Packaged: 2018-08-29 21:36:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 46
Words: 128,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8506468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_Dont_Like_I_Obsess/pseuds/I_Dont_Like_I_Obsess
Summary: They never said college was easy. But Lexi already knew that, having to take care of her PTSD-stricken grandmother in addition to her studying. At least nothing crazy insane ever happened to-SHIT! ARE YOU OKAY? Jesus Christ, I almost ran you guys over! Is...Is that a polar bear? Did it just talk? You're all...pirates? Well...so much for having a normal life now. AU!





	1. I'm Sorry I Almost Hit You

"…and so a nitrate ion is a major chemical component of hemoglobin in red blood cells, whereas the Magnesium ion has the important responsibility of…"

 _'_ _Urrrggghhh…'_  Lexi thought, absentmindedly scribbling down the professor's boring drawl as notes in her binder. She'd stopped caring about whatever was being said a half hour ago, but her grades at the end of the semester had to be good enough to keep her scholarship, so write she must.

"Are there any questions?" Professor Hauser inquired slowly. Everything about the man reminded her of a tortoise: slow moving, slow talking, and no sense of hurry in the world. Lexi kept glancing at the clock, seeing that there was only two minutes left of lecture, two minutes until 8:00. Come on!

_'_ _I'm freakin' starving!'_

No one raised their hand or voice, and so the professor turned back to the whiteboard behind him, wiping away the diagrams he'd drawn. "Be prepared for the exam on Friday. We'll be having a review on Thursday, so if you still don't feel prepared-"

Lexi was already out the door and didn't hear the last part of his sentence.

* * *

"Geez, Lex, you were out of there like the building was on fire or something." Brittany said, falling in step beside her friend. Lexi rolled her eyes, shrugging her bag onto her shoulders a little higher. The darkening sky outside, along with the dark clouds rolling in to the north, made it a lot darker than usual at 8:00 at night.

"We covered this stuff yesterday, so you'd think we could move a  _little_  bit faster to the next section. I already know this stuff! I don't understand why I can't just take the exam now." The brunette sighed heavily, digging her keys out of her hoodie pocket, jamming them into the lock of her beat-up Chevy. Brittany stood by, watching.

"You seriously need a new ride, Lex. How long have you had this thing?" She poked at the peeling paint by the side mirrors. Finally, after a few jimmies, Lexi unlocked the door and opened it, not without the customary squeak of course.

"If I could get a new one, I think I would've already done so. Besides, the two of us have been through so much." She mocked, patting the top on the truck's hood, and Brittany poked her in the side.

"Whatever. I'll see you tomorrow, babe." She wiggled her fingers and headed towards her much nicer Subaru. Lexi watched her black hair sway back and forth as she walked, envious that Brittany had such soft and thick hair. Her own was quite thin.

Tossing her bags into the passenger seat, she sat down in the driver side and slammed the door. With a sigh, she realized that the storm to the north was going to be pretty severe. A roll of thunder sounded, and as distant as it was, it still sent a chill down her spine. She loved the rain, and everything to do with it, but something about it was so…intimidating.

Starting her little truck, she backed out of the parking spot and drove towards the main road. She glanced back at Peters Hall, before turning onto the road.

* * *

It kinda sucked that she lived so far away from the University of Advanced Health, but if she was gonna go anywhere in life, it had to be done. Her grandmother helped her pay for gas and tuition, as well as gave her a roof to live under and food to eat. Things could be worse, she supposed, but it didn't mean she had to love the way she was living.

Deciding that driving in silence was boring, she grabbed a random CD from the holder on the visor and popped it into the player. There was a pause before the starting chords of 'Hit Me Baby One More Time' came on."

Lexi hummed the first few lines, rocking her head back and forth to the beat. The chorus came on and she sang as loud as she wanted, no one within earshot to hear her.

_"_ _My loneliness is killing me, and I, I must confess, I still believe, still believe!_

_"_ _When I'm not with you I lose my mind, give me a siiiiiigggnnn, hit me baby one more time!"_

The clouds had rolled in pretty quick, and large drops of rain started out sprinkling on her windshield, but before long it had turned into a full-out downpour, and she had to crank up the speed of her wipers. Lightning and thunder flashed and boomed, and Lexi struggled to see the road in front of her, despite her lights being turned on.

_"_ _Oh baby baby, the reason I breathe is you. Boy you've got me blinded._

_"_ _Oh pretty baby there's nothing that I wouldn't do, It's not the way I planned it._

A particularly loud burst of thunder sounded to the left of her, and she jumped, surprised by how strong the storm was. Leaves and other small debris were blowing across the road and passed her windshield. Not wanting to get into a wreck, she slowed down from 50 mph to 40. There wasn't anyone on the road that late at night anyway, so she didn't have to worry about angry drivers behind her.

_"_ _Show me how you want it to be, tell me baby 'cause I need to know now, oh because,_

_"_ _My loneliness is killing me, and I, I must confess, I still believe, still believe!_

_"_ _When I'm not with you I lose my mind, give me a siiiggggnnn, hit me baby-_ OH MY GOD!" Seeing the figures in the road, she swerved out of the way, applying pressure to her horn, and slammed on her brakes, her tires hydroplaning into the shallow ditch that lined the road. She came to a sliding stop in the middle of it, breathing heavily. Letting go of the horn, the awful noise stopped, leaving nothing but the raging storm outside. Her arms were shaking, the adrenaline surging through her veins by the bucketful.

 _'_ _I could have died.'_  She thought, slowly taking out the key from the ignition. Then, the image of the figures in the road flashed through her mind and she immediately took off her seatbelt.  _'They could have died!'_

Throwing open the door, she was assaulted by the fully developed thunder and lightning storm outside, and her clothes were immediately soaked. The darkness made it hard to see, and a part of her brain thought it was crazy to be wandering out into the road at that moment, but she had to make sure whoever was out there was safe.

"Hey!" She yelled, trying to see with her hair being whipped every which way. "Are you ok?"

The silhouettes were barely visible in the rain and gloom, but she could barely make them out-several the size of an average person, but one was much bigger. She made her way towards them, holding a hand in front of her face to shield her eyes.

"What the hell are you doing out here?" She yelled, finally getting their attention. One of them, a man with a hat that said 'PENGUIN' looked confused.

"Where are we?" She didn't recognize him, or his friends who she could now see a little better.

"The middle of the road!" The wind was making it hard to hear, and she tried getting in the middle of the group. They all looked pretty strnge, but she couldn't think about that now. The storms could be pretty dangerous, and this one was only getting worse. "We gotta get out of the storm, find shelter!"

One man stepped up, a bright yellow hoodie making him blatantly visible only a few feet away. "Can you take us to safety?" He asked, hand holding his spotted hat in place.

"Get in my truck and I'll drive you to my house! We can wait out the storm there!"

"Truck?" He asked in confusion, but she pointed down the way.

"I parked in the ditch on the side of the road! It's just over there!" The man seemed to think about this, but then he nodded and gestured for the others to follow. She led the way, thoroughly drenched from the rain, and cold from the wind.

They approached the car and she climbed in, they seemed to hesitate, which she didn't blame them. She would be pretty unsure about being helped by a complete and utter stranger who shows up in the middle of a raging storm with a solution to your problem. How convenient.

She opened the door and climbed in, slamming it after her. The other opened the doors and got in as well, and she noticed the man in the yellow hoodie sat up front with her. He seemed to be the leader, as she saw the worried glances from the others all directed at him. Suddenly, a large thump hit the back of her truck, which startled her, but she assumed it was some sort of debris from the storm. The damage could be inspected later.

"Ok, let's get out of here." She shoved the keys in the ignition and it roared to life. Shifting into drive, somehow her tires weren't stuck in mud and she easily got out of the side ditch. They sped towards Lexi's home.

* * *

They certainly didn't talk much, just looked really confused as she drove away from the worst of the storm. A tiny part of her worried what her grandmother would say, bringing three strangers into her house. She was paranoid as it was.

She noticed that none of them had put their seatbelt on, despite her reminder to. They had only looked at her funny, which she shrugged off. Maybe they were country folk, not used to using 'technology.'

She noticed her truck wasn't going very fast, at least as fast as usual, it was difficult just to get up to 45, and before she was soaring at 50. And there must have been something orange blocking her back windshield too, because she couldn't see anything. Maybe a piece of tarp was stuck. She would fix it once the storm blew over.

Staying in the completely silent cab was really awkward, and Lexi was tired of sitting there feeling like she was silently being judged. Clearing her throat, she gathered their attention.

"So, uh, what'er your names?" The one with the Penguin hat spoke first.

"Penguin." She blinked.

"Oh, I see." She hoped this wasn't some group of male strippers, seeing as the two in back had on the same uniform type outfit. That would be wierd. His friend beside him, a redhead with sunglasses and a green beret-type hat, raised his hand.

"Shachi." She had noticed before that they liked to…stare. Specifically at her, and she worried that she'd picked up a bunch of rapists. They didn't look dangerous, but you just never knew in this day and age. Turning her green eyes onto the hoodie-wearing one, he only glanced at her.

"Trafalgar Law."

"Well, I'm Lexi." Nobody said anything, and she sighed. "What were you doing out in the middle of nowhere, right in the middle of a massive storm?" Immediately, the one named Shachi punched Penguin's arm.

"It's his fault! If he hadn't of wandered into that cave we would still be looking for treasure!"

"No way! You were the one who wanted to see a mermaid, or a siren! You kept going deeper in!" They started a tiny brawl in the back, and Lexi wasn't sure what to do. Things had certainly escalated quickly. Luckily, Law put it to rest quickly.

"Enough." He said, and they stopped immediately.

"Sorry, Captain." The two in back muttered, which piqued her interest.

"Captain? Are you in the military?" He turned an incredulous look to her, and she frowned in confusion.

"I am not in the marines, if that is what you're asking, Lexi-ya."

"Yeah right, Captain would never be a marine. He hates them! We all do." Penguin said, and Shachi nodded his agreement.

Lexi didn't ask anything else the whole ride there, convinced that they were all delusional. She sighed internally.

_'_ _Why am I surrounded by crazy people?'_

* * *

It took another 15 minutes to get to her house, or her grandmother's house to be more specific. They weren't exactly isolated, having a handful of neighbors on ranches around them. The closest city was about a five minutes drive away, but it wasn't where the university was.

Pulling into the long gravel driveway up to the ranch, she parked in front, and turned off the car. It was still raining, though nowhere near as hard as before.

"Come on." She said, exiting the car. The others followed suit.

Lexi made sure to grab her stuff from the floor, where Law had uncaringly thrown it to sit in the seat, before running up the steps to the front door. Unlocking it with her keys, she stepped inside, hoping that Nana had gone to bed early.

"General Patton, sir! We need another supply drop for bandages and morphine! The casualties are increasing everyday, and we are struggling to keep up with the demand!" She could hear her grandmother's voice shouting in the kitchen. Sighing heavily, she turned to the men.

"Wait here." Law narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but she rolled her eyes. "Please, it's my grandmother. If she sees you, she'll probably think you're part of the war. Just…stay here for a second." Raising an eyebrow, he nodded, and she went to the kitchen.

"Nana! I'm home!" She called, and the older woman, dressed in nothing but her nightgown that reached halfway down her calves, looked up from shouting into the phone on the wall. A smile lit up her face.

"Oh, Lexi my dear! How were your classes?"

"They were fine, but I'm just tired is all." Nana's face quickly became one of concern, shuffling over to her and patting her face.

"Oh dear, why don't you let me treat you. Oh! I've got just the thing! A nice dose of Oxycodon should wake you right up!" She went to rummage in her drug cabinet, but Lexi calmed her down.

"Oh, no Nana, you don't have to do that. I'll just head to bed and get some sleep."

A loud burst of thunder rumbled the house, and unfortunately set off her grandmother again. She tried to duck down beside the counter, eyes wild and unfocused.

"Those damn Nazis are sending down another firestorm! Lexi, it's not safe here! Get to the bunker and wait out the attack. I have to report to the medical camp and tend to wounded." She started pushing Lexi out of the kitchen, but Lexi guided her to the main bedroom.

"Nana, the soldiers will be fine. You need some rest too, otherwise you'll fall asleep in the middle of sewing an arm back on! Mr. Patton wouldn't be too happy if that happened, right?" The therapist kept saying that encouraging her grandmother's delusions wouldn't help her recover at all, but sometimes it was just easier to go along with it than to have the 'this is reality' fight. Besides, Lexi didn't see the possibility of recovery, especially since she was well into her 90's.

This seemed to throw Nana through a loop, and she stopped with a surprised look. "I suppose you're right, but wake me up at 0400 hours! Sleeping in during wartime is a coward's habit!" She ranted, shaking her fist at invisible soldiers. With a gentle pat on the arm, Lexi guided her to the bed and helped her get into bed.

"Goodnight, Nana." Sighing with exhaustion, her grandmother smiled.

"Sleep well, my sweet Lexi."

With that, Lexi turned off the lights and closed the door behind her. Sighing heavily, she saw the men had wandered into the living room, and Law was wearing a very irritating smirk.

"You're grandmother has PTSD?" He asked, and she nodded. There was nothing to deny, as her episodes were becoming more intense and extravagant each time.

"Yeah, she still thinks she's in World War Two." She replied with a shrug, not noticing the confused look in Law's eyes. At that moment, a…polar bear? walked into the room from behind the men. It was wearing…something orange, which probably explained the orange thing blocking her back windshield. It had hopped a ride with them. Lexi stopped short. It was holding a…sword? What was all this? She slowly raised her pointer finger at it, struggling to swallow.

"Um…" Law seemed to understand her sudden confusion and fear, and quickly shook his head.

"He's with us. He won't harm you."

"He's your pet?" She asked in disbelief, and the bear turned to face her.

"I'm the first mate!" He said proudly, and she stopped.

"He…talks." She said slowly, blinking rapidly to try to understand what was happening. "The polar bear…talks?" And Law nodded. She turned to look at the animal, who lowered his head in sorrow.

"Gomenasai…" It muttered, and Lexi about freaked out. "And this is normal?" She reiterated, to which Law frowned.

"Surely you've seen a supposedly inanimate object or animal talk before, Lexi-ya? Our world is rather strange after all, and devil fruits seem to be most common on the Grand Line. Bepo is a part of my crew."

"Oh yeah, how long does it take a log pose to set on this island?" Shachi asked, sitting on the couch with a sigh of relief. Penguin followed suit, and the bear decided to lay down on the ground…still in his orange jumpsuit.

Grand Line? Log Pose? Crew? "…what?" She asked eventually, not understanding a word of what they were saying. She was starting to get a headache, and she sat down on the furthest end of the couch, placing a hand on her forehead. They said the PTSD wasn't genetic, but maybe she really was going crazy…

"We are still on Mariner Island, yes?" Law questioned, and Lexi shook her head, closing her eyes.

"I have no idea what you guys are even talking about. What the hell is a log pose? What island? We're in West Virginia."

"West Virginia? Is that in the Grand Line?" Shachi asked. She spread out her arms in exasperation.

"What the hell is a Grand Line?" Law narrowed his eyes again, pondering everything that he knew.

"Perhaps…" Law started, trailing off in his own thoughts.

"What is it, Captain?" Shachi asked, and Law glanced to his friend.

"That cave might have put us in an entirely different world, or universe, or dimension. Who knows really? It's quite obvious this isn't the world we know." He walked over to the TV set, standing on the table. It seemed to intrigue him, as he touched it in different places, trying to figure out how it worked.

"What cave? I'm so confused…" Law eventually turned back to her.

"I don't believe we're from the same world." Lexi about passed out.


	2. Nana's Bullets

"You're…aliens." She concluded. Glancing at each of their faces, they looked so human. Cautiously extending her pointer finger towards Penguin's face, she poked it. It felt like real human skin, too. Maybe they'd adapted to blend in with people?

"Hey!" He said, rubbing the spot she'd touched.

"I can assure you, we are in fact human." Law defended. Lexi shook her head.

"Time travel, or dimension traveling…whatever it is, it isn't possible. Science isn't that advanced." Law smirked again, and she found it rather annoying.

"The world we come from is very different from yours. I imagine you don't have Devil Fruits?" She shook her head. "They are fruits of unknown origin, holding the unique ability to grant the one who eats them with power."

"Captain has one!" Shachi said.

"The only weakness to this power is the inability to swim. The user would immediately sink to the bottom of the sea." He explained, and Lexi's brain gave up trying to understand.

"Did you guys come from a mental hospital or something?"

"We're not crazy." Penguin huffed, crossing his arms. Shachi mimicked the movement. Lexi scoffed.

"I beg to differ." She muttered, leaning back against the couch cushion. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't just call the cops to take you away?"

Instantly, the bear had tossed the sword to Law, who caught it expertly and unsheathed it in one smooth movement. Her eyes widened, staring down the edge of a very large, very real sword. It looked a lot pointer when the tip was aimed directly at your face, as Lexi found.

"I've been courteous up to this point, Lexi-ya. However, I can resort to more devious methods to ensure my crew's survival. These, 'cops,' as you say, will not be called." He concluded, staring her down with malicious intent evident in his grey eyes.

She swallowed, slowly nodding as he lowered the sword. She raised her hands in surrender. "Ok, no need to get all pissy about it. But how do I know you won't kill me in my sleep tonight, even if I let you stay?"

He smirked again, sheathing his sword. "You don't."

She sighed heavily. "Of course." She replied sarcastically. "That's always how it is."

_'_ _Great job, Lex. Letting strangers into your home, like an idiot. Rescuing them from a storm instead of driving away, like an idiot. Being threatened into submission, like a damn idiot.'_

"Well, then I guess I don't really have a choice but to let you stay. There's only one problem though." She rose from her seat on the couch.

"And what might that be?" He questioned.

Heading over to the kitchen connected to the living room, she opened the fridge and looked for something to eat inside. "We only have one guest bedroom, which is a single, so unless you're partial to sleeping on the floor or the couch, there's nowhere to put you." Finding a loaf of bread, peanut butter, and a jar of jelly, she set them all on the counter. Grabbing a knife from the drawer, she opened the loaf. "You guys must be pretty hungry, right?"

"Yes!" Shachi and Penguin jumped up from the couch, rushing over to the kitchen for food. They took places on the two stools facing the counter. "Thank you, Lexi-chan!"

"Oh…uh, no problem." She awkwardly accepted their thanks, not really sure what to say. The whole situation was still pretty strange. She was still half convinced she were dreaming or hallucinating. Or a weird mix of both. Maybe Brittany had slipped some drug into her coffee that morning…

* * *

Law and the polar bear remained in the living room, and Lexi raised a half-jellied piece of bread. "Are you guys hungry?"

"I don't like bread." Law said, shaking his head. Turning to the polar bear, and she couldn't believe that it was there at all still, she gestured to the kitchen.

"Umm…you eat fish, right?" The bear nodded. "I think there's leftover trout from last night's dinner. Help yourself." He brightened up instantly, meandering over to the fridge. Law still didn't move though.

"Well, is there anything you do like? If I have it I can make it." She offered. Honestly she didn't even know  _why_  she offered, though being nice to the people who threatened to kill you minutes before was probably a smart investment, at least in her view. He shrugged.

"Onigiri." He stated promptly, and she hesitated.

"I…don't know what that is." She quickly went to the fridge, noticing the polar bear had found the container of fish and just dumped the contents into his mouth without cooking it. She conveniently ignored that fact. Listing off several things available, she rummaged through what was inside. "There's apples…or salad…some frozen pizzas…and…Nana, not again…" She muttered, reaching inside to take out Nana's box of .38 caliber pistol bullets and the corresponding weapon.

"Why are those in the fridge?" Shachi asked in confusion, munching away on his finished sandwich. She shook her head, unloading the weapon and hiding them in a high cupboard so her grandmother wouldn't find them again.

"Nana has a tendency to forget where she puts things, and then they'll be in really strange places because she forgets she has them. But she likes to keep bullets close by in case the 'Nazis ambush the camp' as she says."

"You mentioned a war." Law said, and she nodded. "What exactly caused it? And I assume your grandmother participated in it?"

"Yeah, she was in the medical camps treating wounded. And the cause is kind of a huge mix of politics. Basically, Germany didn't like Poland, so they attacked. The Brits didn't like that and retaliated. Japan decided to bomb the U.S. They got all angry and joined in, and smaller countries got dragged in because all the fighting was being done on their land." She finished, surprisingly enjoying the look of confusion on his face.

"I have never heard of these people. Who are they?" She laughed.

"Not people. Countries." He nodded, a bit more understanding shining through those grey orbs. Lexi found it hard to look away. She frowned, forcing her gaze onto her own sandwich. Putting the stuff away, she tried to hide her reddening cheeks of embarrassment.

_'_ _The hell is wrong with me?'_

* * *

After they'd eaten their late-night snack, the question of the sleeping arrangement was once again an issue. "Well, there's one room with one bed, a couch, and I might be able to find an air mattress somewhere."

"We'll figure it out, right Shachi?" Penguin asked.

"Oh yeah, don't worry about us!" He gave a thumbs up. Shaking her head in amusement, she shrugged.

"Alright. The bedroom's upstairs." She led them up, making sure they all followed. "The bathroom's the door at the end of the hall, just so you know."

Opening the guest bedroom door, she held it open. Inside was a single bed, a large vanity with drawers, a closet, and a chest at the foot of the bed. A large window faced the front of the house, and the raging storm outside sent rain pounding against the glass.

"It's kind of small, but it's all we've got."

"It will do." Law said, following his friends inside. Lexi cleared her throat, forgetting one detail. "Oh, and if you hear Nana shouting in the middle of the night, don't worry. She wakes up thinking she's been captured as a prisoner of war. I'll take care of it if she does."

He nodded, and Lexi left them to themselves. Watching her depart, he saw her walk into a room further down the hall. So, she was housed not even thirty feet away. Either she was very trusting or had no other choice. He chose to believe the latter, smirking at the image of her wide eyes and raised hands of helplessness at the end of his sword.

Their experiences in this world were sure to be…adventurous.


	3. Taken Prisoner

It wasn't very hard to imagine that Lexi would have trouble sleeping that night. Every bump or creak of the house settling and the storm still blowing outside had her thinking that the strangers were coming down the hall to kill her. She stayed wrapped up in her soft comforter, curled into herself to retain whatever warmth she could. Half the night her mind was coming up with scenarios in which she could fight back against an attack.

_'_ _I could throw the lamp and jump through the window. No, it's too high. I could hide in the closet and slip past them when they're turned away. But his sword's so long…I should have taken it away before letting them in. Well, they might've just killed me anyway…'_

There was another creak, and then the squealing of metal, like a hinge. Her eyes shot open, listening intently. There were footsteps, slowly approaching her room. With bated breath, Lexi heard the footsteps go past her door and into the bathroom, and the door promptly shut.

"Thank God." She whispered, releasing the pent-up breath. After a few moments the toilet flushed, and the sink was turned on. Then, underneath those sounds, the familiar shouts of her grandmother could be heard in her room below. With a sigh, Lexi looked at the clock. It was 2:30 in the morning. At least she didn't have classes to go to that day.

Throwing the blankets off her body, she rose and padded to the door. Her room was colder than the warm cocoon of her bed, and a shiver went up her cracked open the door, peeking side to side hoping that no one was there. She was in luck. Silently creeping out into the hall, she tiptoed downstairs and towards her grandmother's room.

"My name is Donna Roe. I'm a medic for the United States. My service number is AM13-726-810." Lexi heard her call, repeating it over and over to her captors, and the brunette knew that she thought she was being interrogated. Usually, when Lexi walked into the middle of her delusions, Nana usually woke up from it. But on a few occasions, the old woman actually believed her to be one of the interrogators. Since that first time of having to convince her that Lexi was, indeed, Lexi, she'd always just played the part in Nana's delusion.

With a sigh, and a small grin because Nana certainly kept her life interesting, she held up her hands in the shape of a gun, throwing open the door and twirling inside.

"Hands up, this bunker is now occupied by the United States of America! Step away from the prisoner." She called, not too loud to wake the others upstairs, but loud enough to get Nana's attention. Nana stood with her back against the wall, hands held out on each side like she was held prisoner. Lexi pretended to shoot invisible Nazis in the bedroom, going so far as to add 'Pew, Pew' to each shot, just to make it seem real to Nana. The older woman looked up and smiled.

"Thank the Lord! I don't know how long I could've held out. Lexi, you tell those rescue men that they've got my thanks. How did you find this place anyway?"

"It's no problem, Nana. And we got your message through code." She took a shot in the dark. Usually, Nana would try to send out 'codes' for the military to find her. "Just sit tight and we'll have you home in no time." She pretended to cut off the ropes 'restraining' her grandmother, and she sighed in relief.

"I might've had a hard time stayin' true, but I sure did get a lot of information about the enemy tactics! Those son's a' bitches won't know what hit 'em when I tell the General about their movements!" Lexi guided her back to the bed, tucking her in.

"I'll let him know you have valuable information, Nana. But just sit tight and prepare for takeoff. The helicopter will fly you straight back to the medical camp, alright? Just rest up. You need it." She clicked Nana into an invisible set of helicopter seat belts, and Nana closed her eyes.

"I'll see you back at home, Lexi." She said, drifting into a deep sleep. Smiling, Lexi finished tucking Nana in.

"Night, Nana." She whispered, rising from the side of the bed and leaving the bedroom.

* * *

Law had always been a midnight owl, sometimes going several days without sleep, thanks to his insomnia. It wasn't unusual, therefore, that he found himself staring at the ceiling of the guest bedroom at 2:30 in the morning with the urge to empty his bladder. Glancing at Bepo, who slept contentedly on the carpet floor, and his two crew mates, who had somehow found some kind of thin mattress-like device in the closet, he rose from the bed and crept towards the door.

Opening the door, he peered out into the small hallway. No one was outside, and the storm was still raging. Deciding that nothing posed a threat, he wandered over to the room that Lexi had said was the bathroom.

Flipping on the light switch on the wall, it illuminated a small bathroom. The shower and toilet was on one side of the room, with the sink on the opposite corner. Closing the door behind him, he quickly took care of his business.

It was quite evident that this bathroom was Lexi's personal one. The curtain had a rather childish portrayal of bubbles and a rubber duck in the bottom corner. The towels were bright colors, and the rug in front of the sink was fuzzy pink.

He washed his hands, still examining the room when he heard the sound of a shout from downstairs. At first, he tensed, preparing for danger, but then Lexi's words came back to mind. He assumed that the noise was her grandmother, or Nana as she called her. Then, he heard the door to her room open, and she descended the stairs to go take care of her. Law finished washing his hands, drying them on the neon teal towel that hung from the rack.

Exiting the bathroom, he saw that her door was cracked just slightly, and he smirked mischievously. Lexi never said he  _couldn't_  go in her room. Sure, it might have been implied from the moment they walked in the house, but she never verbally confirmed it. Therefore, Law just didn't know any better. Besides, he was curious to see what kind of person she was. And so he found himself walking inside.

Immediately after turning on the light, there was a blatant common theme in the room. The walls, the curtains covering the windows, the bedspread: it was all a light blue. He was willing to bet it was her favorite color. There was a large bookcase at the foot of the bed, packed full of different books. On the vanity, there was a stack of cases, with strange, circular discs. Walking over to them, he picked one up, examining it in the light. Written on one of them was "90's Greatest Hits." Not understanding what it meant, he placed it back in the holder.

There was a small desk in the corner, below the window, and various textbooks were laid out. Several lines out of the pages were highlighted in yellow, and a notebook was open with writing in it. She did schooling of some kind, and of the medical profession if the textbooks and notes were anything to go by.

He straightened, glancing around the room once more before turning off the light and leaving. Getting caught at this point would probably warrant a long and severely loud lecture from the brunette. He hadn't even known her a full day, but he could tell she was the freaking-out kind. Slipping back into the guest room, he returned to bed.

* * *

Lexi ascended the stairs, yawning as she got closer to her bed. The thought of snuggling into the confines of her covers was rather appealing. Passing by the guest bedroom, she didn't hear anything except the soft snores of the men. She sighed in relief. At least they hadn't woken up to Nana's shouts.

Entering her room, she noticed idly that she'd left the door ajar. Shaking her head, she closed it and locked it, thankful that she'd caught it before something embarrassing or possibly regretful could happen.


	4. The Greeks

Soft light filtered through the blinds, slowly nudging Lexi awake. She took a deep breath, rubbing at her eyes to get rid of the crusty feeling. She lay wrapped up in the confines of her comforter, protecting her from the chill of the room. Birds tweeted outside, and she realized the storm had passed. There was always such a peaceful quiet after the rain.

Begrudgingly leaving the warm nest that was her bed, she stood and went to her dresser for pants. The tank top was fine, as Nana was always too busy sewing up bleeding men to care about what she wore. Finding her favorite sweatpants, adorned with the Batman logo all over it, she slipped them on and pulled her hair up in a ponytail.

She suddenly remembered the crazy night before, freezing her in place. Had it really all been real? Had four strangers, one of them being a freakin' polar bear, hijacked her house and demanded to stay? It all seemed too crazy to believe, and she laughed, shaking her head.

 _'_ _You're a piece of work, Lex. Officially the craziest dream you've ever had.'_  Reaching for the handle, she opened the door.

"AH!" She screamed, immediately closing it. The polar bear was standing right outside her door, like it was waiting for her to wake up. "What the hell?" She called, remembering it could…somehow…talk.

"I'm sorry." He replied from behind the door, in a very sad tone of voice. Lexi pursed her lips, feeling kinda bad for the guy. I guess he couldn't exactly help what he was. Sighing, she opened it again, witnessing him slumped over in depression. She felt even worse.

"Look, just don't scare me like that, ok?" She reasoned, and the bear nodded. "Did you need something?" She yawned, padding into the hallway.

"We were wondering if you were going to make us breakfast?" She gave a short laugh.

"I may be letting you guys stay, but that doesn't mean I'm now your personal butler or anything. You guys can feed yourselves." She was about to walk downstairs, but the door to the guest bedroom was open, and she couldn't help but look inside.

Shachi and Penguin were laying on the air mattress. She was surprised they'd found it, stuffed in the closet somewhere. The only problem was, they hadn't inflated it. Seeing the brunette, they stretched.

"Hey, Lexi-chan, this thing isn't comfy at all! Why do people even use it?" They moaned, rubbing at their supposedly sore backs. She shook her head, entering the room.

"You know that you have to inflate it with air, right?" They shared a glance, not fully understanding. "It's an  _air_  mattress. So before the end of the day we'll inflate it, ok?" They nodded.

"Baka! I told you we did it wrong." Penguin hit Shachi on the head, and Lexi left before a full out brawl could ensue. She told herself internally that it had nothing to do with the sleeping Captain who looked extremely attractive with his hair all messed up.

* * *

Lexi made herself a cup of coffee, ever thankful that the coffee machine had a timer every morning. That way, there was a steaming pot already waiting for her every morning. The others slowly made their way down the stairs, the Captain grumpily stretched and descended, fully dressed and ready for the day. His spotted hat was on his head, which Lexi thought was cute.

Lexi went to help Nana up, figuring that now was as good a time as ever to have everyone meet. It sounded a lot better than the possibility of them meeting her while she was under one of her delusions. She might think they're Nazi soldiers.

"Nana, it's time to wake up." She called, gently shaking her shoulder. Nana woke up gradually, yawning the sleep away.

"Lexi, dear. How did you sleep?" She smiled, accepting her granddaughter's help out of bed.

"Oh, very well actually. Do you want some coffee?" Nodding, Nana went to get dressed. Returning to the kitchen, she found the four men trying to figure out the common appliances. Raising an eyebrow, she walked over. "What are you doing?"

They looked back to her, all the while trying to put the frozen waffles in the microwave, box and all. "Making breakfast." Bepo replied for them. He still carried Law's sword. She face palmed, shaking her head slightly. She walked over, and they parted to let her by.

At least they hadn't turned it on, or even knew how. She opened the door, taking out the box. "Do you guys even know how a microwave works?"

"Microwave?" Shachi asked. Glancing at their faces, they all looked extremely confused.

"You've never used a microwave?" Lexi asked in disbelief.

"I assume it is for cooking meals, yes?" Law questioned. She nodded, noticing that he'd helped himself to a cup of coffee. At least they knew that much.

"Yeah, but first off, you gotta take things out of the box. There's directions on the back." She pointed to them. "And second, waffles go in the toaster, not the microwave."

Deciding it was easier, and much safer, if Lexi cooked all the food she unboxed the waffles and dug out the toaster. Setting two in, she pressed down the button and went to get plates from the cupboard.

"Your world looks so complicated." Penguin said, and Shachi elbowed him in the ribs.

"Baka, don't say mean things to Lexi-chan!"

"It wasn't an insult!" He cried, holding his injured chest. She laughed.

"Guys, calm down. I'm not even mad." They seemed to calm down, but Penguin's comment made her think. "What kind of world do you guys live in?"

"Well, being a pirate is pretty fun." Shachi said, and Penguin nodded in agreement. "We're always after treasure."

"And One Piece." Law supplied, to which Lexi tilted her head.

"What's One Piece?"

"The treasure of Gold Roger, the legendary pirate king who was executed 20 years ago!" The two weird ones said in unison, eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Sounds…interesting." Lexi replied, raising an eyebrow in doubt. "Who's to say it hasn't already been found?"

"Because the whole world's been looking ever since his death, and no one's even come close in that time." Law sipped from his coffee mug, leaning against the counter. "If the treasure were already found, there would be a new pirate king, and no one has stepped forward with that title."

"Besides, Captain's gonna be the one to find it! Ouch!"

"Baka, quit yelling at Lexi-chan, Shachi!" Penguin held his fist over his friend's head, threatening to hit him again. Lexi chuckled at their antics. They were pretty cool guys for probably being escaped institution patients. A part of her was still wary about them, but for now they were harmless. Except for the captain, who always had that sword. Which reminded her…

"Oh yeah, for my safety and the safety of my grandmother, I'm gonna have to take that sword from you." She held out her hand to Bepo, who carried it. The bear looked to Law, who smirked.

"And why should I do that?" She gulped, but continued with a fake confidence she didn't feel.

"You guys are pirates, right?" When they nodded, she spread out her hands. "Then you are obviously strong enough to kill me without using your weapons. So, what's the harm in not having it?

"The safety of my own crew would then be in question." He reasoned. She bowed her head.

"True, you would worry about me trying to attack you, but I have never handled a sword or a weapon of any kind in my life."

"How can I be sure that's even true?" He countered. She was starting to get the impression that he was having fun with this. His smirk never left his face. It didn't feel comforting in the slightest.

"There's really no way you or I can know for sure we won't kill each other. But considering the situation, I think it would be best to extend a tiny bit of trust onto one another."

He was silent for a moment, pondering her request. She was certainly right, they were strong enough to kill her without the need for weapons. She put up a good argument. In her position, she could be killed at any moment and for no reason, whereas they were 'guests' in her home, with the protection to ensure their safety.

"Fair enough." He conceded, nodding to Bepo to give the sword to her. Trusting his Captain's decision, he held it out. Lexi took it, but as soon as the bear let go, the full weight was now being supported in her arms and she almost dropped it from the weight.

"Oh God…" She muttered, surprised by the weight of the weapon. The widening smirk from the Captain wasn't lost upon her either. Hefting it up, she carried it into the front room, where the coat closet was. Opening the door, she placed the weapon inside and shut it before it way able to fall back towards her. Returning to the kitchen, she saw Nana walking out of her bedroom in her casual clothes.

"Lexi?" She asked, eyeing the three strangers in the kitchen. Thankfully, Bepo was still out of her line of sight. "I didn't know we had guests?" Her confusion was quite evident, though they never entertained people. And Lexi wasn't the sort to bring home random guys.

"Oh, yeah…Nana, this is Law, and Penguin and Shachi." She gestured to all of them in turn. They looked a little nervous, as if they would invoke the wrath of her grandmother.

"Oh! I didn't know you had a boyfriend." She said excitedly, and Lexi sweat dropped, almost feeling the smirk burning into her back. To make things worse, Law chuckled, as if everything was some cute joke. Well ha ha. If her grandmother thought it was so, she'd never hear the end of it.

"No, no…not like that." She tried to recover, and thankfully the older woman seemed to be in a listening mood. "They're…exchange students! From Greece." She said on the spot. "I volunteered to let them live in the house during their time at college." She gave a fake smile, hoping she'd believe her.

"Oh, how lovely! It's always great to have foreigners see our great country!" She clapped her hands together, moving further into the kitchen. At that moment, she stopped and gazed up at Bepo.

"Is this a polar bear?" She inquired, peering closer at his face. Bepo only sniffed her gently, seeing the grandmother as no threat.

"Oh, he's their pet." She offered. She was hoping the bear had enough sense to stay quiet, but it seemed that the whole bunch of men didn't really grasp the idea of context or the importance of a situation.

"I'm not a pet. I'm the navigator." He said, and Nana's eyes widened. Lexi thought she would scream or something but to her surprise, she only chuckled.

"Oh, I'm sure you are dear." She patted Bepo's nose, and the bear smiled. Lexi stared in disbelief at Nana's back as she rummaged through the fridge for breakfast. Everyone was silent, save for Nana's soft humming. Muttering to herself, she took out the bread and peanut butter.

"Those Greeks sure do have a strange culture. Even going so far as to make their pets talk! What the world has come to…" Frowning, she turned to Lexi.

"We might need to make a stop at the grocery store. We're getting low on provisions." Nodding, Lexi only watched as she wandered off towards the kitchen table, leaving the others to stand there gawking. Well, all except for Law who only grinned in delight at the surprising turn of events.

"So, shall we get going to this grocery store?" Law questioned, breaking Lexi out of her trance-like state.

"Yes, but first I'm taking a shower. And second, I don't wanna leave Nana alone. I worry enough when I have to go to the college, but she's getting older and I don't feel comfortable with it anymore."

"Fair enough. Shachi-ya and-" The two goofballs cut him off.

"We wanna go, Captain!" They raised their hands in the air and waved them around excitedly. "We wanna see what this world is like, please please please!"

"Can we, Captain?" Penguin added, clasping his hands in front of him. Sighing heavily, Law nodded.

"Fine. Just keep an eye on her." Law didn't try to hide his suspicions of her, which she supposed weren't unwarranted at this point. They didn't and couldn't really trust each other much. Nor did he hide the disappointment of not being able to go shopping. He obviously wanted to see what the world was like as well. "And don't make a commotion. We don't want unnecessary attention."

"That's right, which means I'm in charge of this little trip." Lexi stepped up. "Now, just give me time to get ready and we'll go." And with that, she hurried upstairs to the bathroom.


	5. The Grocery Store

Within the hour, Lexi herded Shachi and Penguin into her truck, which still dripped water from the storm the night before. They climbed in, and Lexi took the driver's seat.

"What is this thing anyway?" Penguin asked, and she gave them a incredulous look.

"You don't know what a truck is?" They shook their heads. "It's an automobile. Basically, like a ship for land." She compared, remembering they were pirates. Turning the key, the engine sputtered to life, and she shoved it into drive before heading down the second half of the looped gravel driveway.

"Hmm, what is it made of?"

To Shachi's question, she shrugged. "No idea. They make them in big factories." Seeing no one on the road, she turned it towards the small town of Fairview.

An awkward silence fell over those inside, and Lexi decided to fill the void. Grabbing a CD from the holder above, she slipped it into the player.

"What's that?" She smiled, glancing at the two in her rearview mirror.

"You guys don't have CD's in your world, huh?" They shook their heads again.

"CD's?"

"Yeah, they play music. You burn the music onto the disc and then you can play it in the CD player." A moment later, the opening bars of Bad to the Bone came on, and Lexi nodded her head up and down with the music. The gentle hills passed by as she steadily drove the long stretch of road to the town. Every once in awhile, a car would pass by.

"What kind of music is this?" Penguin questioned, eyes wide with wonder. Shachi looked to be in the same kind of trance, listening to George Thorogood sing the lyrics.

"This, my friend, is classic rock." She tapped her wheel with her finger to the beat.

" _I broke a thousand hearts, before I met you. I'll break a thousand more baby, before I am through. I wanna be yours pretty baby, yours and yours alone. I'm here to tell ya honey, that I'm bad to the bone!"_  Lexi sang, catching the attention of the two in the back.

"You know the words?" She chuckled, nodding her head.

"It's easy to memorize these songs when your radio doesn't work." She clicked on the radio, but the only sound that came through was an ebbing static. She switched it off, placing both hands on the wheel again.

"Wanna learn the words?" She asked with a grin, and they nodded enthusiastically. She cranked up the volume, and started the song over again.

* * *

Law sat on the couch, eyeing the infernal device Lexi had labeled the 'TV.' She'd thrown him a rectangular object called a remote, neglecting to explain what exactly it was supposed to do. With the unhelpful instructions to 'knock himself out,' she'd left with his two engineers.

Nana, who'd wandered back into her room early on, was fast asleep on her bed, and was therefore no help to Law. He sighed deeply, and Bepo wandered over.

"Maybe you press one of the buttons?" The bear suggested, pointing to the remote. He glanced at it, picking it up in frustration. Eyeing the numerous buttons that adorned its surface, he took a shot in the dark and pressed the only one that wasn't black. The red one at the top was pushed down, and a small click sounded. They both looked up at the TV, but it was still dark.

"Hmm…" Law muttered, but suddenly the screen turned on and produced a very loud noise.

"-FOR THE VERY BEST DEALS IN USED CARS. WE CHALLENGE YOU TO FIND A BETTER PRICE WITH OUR COMPETITORS." The TV blared, causing both of the pirates to jump.

"Turn it down!" Law shouted, trying to plug his ears with his hands. Bepo grabbed the remote and frantically searched the device for the sound, if there was one. There! A small volume button arrow going up and down was in the middle. He hit the down arrow, and it quieted a notch. Hitting it a few more times, the TV was at a much more reasonable sound level.

The room was quiet once more, though oddly out of place after the sudden noise. Law listened for Lexi's grandmother to come shouting out the bedroom door, but there wasn't a sound. The screen showed a man with several metal contraptions of varying colors, outside in a large expanse of pavement. He continued to talk, patting several of the machine on the front.

"From commuters to family vehicles, we have 'em all at Larry's Used Car Gateway!"

"I wonder what a car is." Bepo commented, and Law agreed. The term 'car' wasn't familiar to him. Perhaps it was similar to a ship? Looking back at the remote, Law inspected the rest of the buttons.

"It appears we can change what we watch with this 'channel' button." He pressed it, and the screen changed to show the outdoors somewhere, with several people holding guns.

"Joey's first sighting of the 5-pointer was early the second morning, and he couldn't wait to take a shot." The men wore camouflage, and Law guessed they were hunting. He pressed the button again and again, going through the channels one by one, not really understanding anything that was on.

* * *

Lexi parked among the few dozens cars in the parking lot, chuckling when Shachi and Penguin pressed their faces up to the glass.

"Woah." They said, watching as people walked by with dogs on leashes and cars passed by. "Besides a few things, our worlds don't seem that much different." Penguin added.

"Really?" Lexi unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the door. The three got out and she made sure to keep an eye on the two in case they decided to run away and see what the world had to offer. There was no doubt in her mind that losing the two would make the captain very angry. And probably homicidal.

"Come on, let's go." She shouted, and the two snapped out of their exploration. Following her up to the door, they stopped.

"Where's the handles?" They asked, seeing no way to open the metal doors in front of them. With a chuckle, Lexi continued to walk towards it and, like magic, they opened before her.

"What is this?"

"Automatic doors. There's a sensor at the top that detects when someone walks by. They open for you." She added, knowing they would ask how it worked anyway. She waited just inside the doorway for them to pass through.

"This is so cool!" They walked up to the doors then backed away, watching as they closed again. She sighed. Their curiosity would make this trip a lot longer than she'd imagined.

"Ok, let's get what we actually came here for." She raised her voice, and they finally realized she was waiting on them.

"Oh, right!" They followed her inside, and Lexi conveniently ignored the strange looks that the other people were giving her.

Lexi grabbed a cart, but after the two fighting over who would push it for her, she was forced to give it up. They settled it by each having one hand on the handle, and she sighed at the two. They were just too much sometimes.

"Ok, we need stuff for sandwiches, lettuce and other vegetables for salads, and several cans of soup." And with that, they perused the aisles with Lexi feeling more and more like she was a mother toting around two five-year-olds.

* * *

Nana had woken up about ten minutes later, but she didn't mention the loud noise at all. She sure was a heavy sleeper for being so old. Emerging with wild hair, she took a seat on the couch beside him. He regarded her cooly, deciding that she was currently in a lucid state and not in danger of grabbing the nearest gun, as Lexi warned sometimes happened.

"What kinda rubbish are you watching?" She asked incredulously, gesturing to whatever the hell he'd put on. Law raised both eyebrows, not used to anyone speaking to him in such a manner. Nana shook her head, snatching the remote from his hands and pointing it towards the TV.

"The only good show on nowadays is Family Feud, and I won't tolerate anything else in this house!" She announced, and Law was at a loss for words. Glancing at Bepo who lay on the floor several feet away, they both shrugged.

She changed the channel to a very flashy and noisy scene. There were two families facing each other, with flashing lights and podiums for each of them. One man stood in the middle, holding a microphone. He held a set of cards.

"Debra, you've only got one strike, so you're not in danger of giving the Allen family the question, but good luck. Name a beverage that might be served at a child's birthday party." The woman named Debra thought for a moment.

"Lemonade!" She called, and there was applause.

"Is lemonade on the board?" The man called, and the screen showed a large board with several words and numbers next to them. There was a ding, and the word lemonade appeared, along with the number 34.

"Only one more word to go!" The announcer called, walking to the next person as the clapping continued.

"I don't understand the concept." Law turned to Nana, and she scoffed.

"Boy, have you been livin' under a rock? Who doesn't know how family feud works?" He wasn't sure how to respond, so he didn't. "Well, you're gonna learn today, so shut up and pay attention." She said in determination, and he wasn't really at liberty to decline. Her brisk manner was just too surprising.

* * *

Thankfully, Lexi was able to find everything she needed without being kicked out of the store, though she was pretty sure she was close to it. She'd spotted the manager giving her dirty looks at each shout of surprise the two made. If she expected them to behave maturely and calmly, she was sorely disappointed.

Every aisle had something they had never seen before, and they insisted on stopping to look at it. Lexi found herself dragged along the aisles to gawk at the bags of cookies and the frozen boxed meals. It seemed their world didn't have such things, which surprised her.

Finally, after much lecturing and dragging the two towards the check out lines, she was able to distract them by sticking magazines into their hands to read, thankfully shutting them both up as they scanned the pictures and words.

Finally making it up to the checkout station, Lexi pushed the cart beside the machine, and the two pirates, unfortunately, finished their magazines.

"Woah, what's that?" Penguin poked at the checkout counter, seeing the buttons on the screen. The touchscreen beeped, as he'd pressed the 'Pay Now' option, and Lexi swatted his hand away.

"No touching, no scanning. I do all that, got it?" She really didn't want to accidentally be charged for fifty heads of lettuce because of their meddling. Thankfully, they seemed to shut up and nod obediently. Sighing, she started swiping the items across the scanner, and it beeped every time she waved it across.

The two seemed mesmerized, as if it was some holy shrine to technology, and it kinda creeped her out. Finally, after scanning all her items, she hit the pay button and swiped her card.

"What's that card do?" Lexi was reminded of a four-year-old wanting to know what everything was, and it was starting to convince her of never having kids.

"It's a debit card. It's linked to your bank account, so it just takes the money out for you. You don't have to have cash with you all the time."

"Ooh." They murmured, eyeing it like it was gold. She shook her head.

Sticking all the bags into the cart, she started walking away. "Let's go before you accidentally wander into the McDonalds or something."

"What's that?" They asked, and she only grinned.

"I'll explain another day. Just get to the car."


	6. Old American Classic

Lexi began loading all the groceries into the backseat, mindful of how much room she left for Penguin to sit. Once everything was in, she hopped in the driver's seat and turned on the ignition.

"Ready?" She asked, pleased to see both of them had buckled their seatbelts. They nodded, and she pulled out of the parking lot.

"Can we listen to that song again?" Shachi asked. Lexi grinned, reaching for the CD's.

"No, but we can listen to a new song." They seemed to get excited over that, and she popped in a random CD.

It took a second for the reader to start the disc, but after a pause the beginning notes to "Love Bug" began to play. The guitar seemed to entrance the two, and she laughed, rolling down the windows as they sped away down the road. Cranking up the music, she sang to the lyrics.

 _"C-c-c-can you come over? A-a-a-are you around? I-I-I need to get bitten. I-I-I wanna get down."_  She tapped her fingers to the beat, and Shachi spoke first.

"This sounds awesome!" His head bounced up and down with the guitar, while Penguin pretended to bang on imaginary drums. Lexi's left foot bounced up and down in excitement, only because she'd never had anyone to sing with. Brittany wasn't one to sing, and it wasn't like they hung out much anyway. So this time of having fun and singing to her heart's content with other people felt really good.

_"Love bug, love bug, hit me with your heart tough. Girl you got me runnin' and you gotta get your money. Hey!"_

They sang the whole way home, Lexi slowly teaching them the lyrics.

* * *

Law sat with crossed arms, shaking his head in disappointment. "When would someone save spoons? That's ridiculous! Why is that an answer?" He glared at the TV, as the audience applauded. Nana, equally as frustrated as him, sat beside him in much the same fashion. Bepo, who'd been sleeping on the floor before, was now watching the screen with disinterest. He didn't get what the big deal was.

"Damn producers, got no idea what they're doing!" She shook a fist at the TV. The host waved to the camera.

"Join us tomorrow for another round!" Then, commercials for different products came on in between shows.

"This show is quite frustrating." Law muttered, and Nana chuckled as she stood up.

"You're quite right. Why don't we blow off some steam then? Follow me!" She bounded into her bedroom, leaving a very confused Bepo and a cautious Law to follow.

* * *

"Alright, I'm not gonna be the only one carrying this stuff in." Lexi called to the two pirates, who had conveniently started up the steps. They stopped at her voice, and slowly turned around.

"Right, sorry!" Penguin called, and they returned back to the truck.

The three of them could easily carry all the plastic bags into the kitchen, and they dumped them unceremoniously onto the counter. Lexi let out a huff of breath, taking off her shoes and throwing them into the corner. She began walking towards the living room, where she could hear the TV on.

"Well, I hope Nana hasn't-" She stopped, seeing no one around. The TV was playing reruns of F.R.I.E.N.D.S., which Nana hated. Obviously they hadn't been watching TV just recently…

"Nana?" She called into the house, hearing no response. Only the creak of the boards as they settled. Forgetting about the food that needed to be put in the fridge, she wandered the bedroom and lower floor for the pair.

"Captain?" Shachi tried, but he didn't answer either.

Just then, a loud gunshot rang out in the backyard. Lexi froze, immediately jogging to the back door that led to the porch. "God dammit…" She muttered throwing open the door and seeing what was outside.

There, standing in the middle of the grass yard, were Law and Nana shooting shotguns at targets set up against the shed. Bepo stood to the side and watched, with a slightly alarmed look on his face. Furious, Lexi stomped down the steps and ran over.

"What the hell are you doing?" She called, stopping just next to her grandmother. She had to cover her ears immediately though, because Nana had ear protection and hadn't heard her, and had taken another shot at the bales of hay against the shed.

Law only lowered the weapon, watching her in amusement. Obviously, he'd been having fun out here.

"Nana!" She called, tapping her shoulder. Her ears were ringing, but she just winced it off. "Give me the gun!"

"Oh! Lexi! I didn't know you'd be home so soon! I was teaching your Greek friend here how to shoot the old american classic!" She pumped the shotgun, getting ready to shoot again. Lexi grabbed the barrel and forced the gun out of her hands.

"Nana, you know how much the Robertson's hate when you shoot in the backyard." Her grandmother pursed her lips, pouting a little. "Don't give me that look. And you know Dr. Pierce told you not to handle any firearms for awhile." She scolded, ignoring Law for the time being.

"That psychiatrist may know how to fix brains, but she doesn't know how to live life! What's the point if I can enjoy what time I have left?"

"It's not good for you. You might get hurt." She tried to persuade her, but Nana was notoriously stubborn.

"There's no use in wasting away without having a little fun." She crossed her arms.

Lexi sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Can we just go inside now? Please?" She pleaded, not wanting to make either of them upset. With a small sigh of her own, Nana relinquished the gun over to her and trotted inside. Looking back towards the house, she could see Penguin and Shachi peeking out the door, watching the spectacle. They ducked back inside when she looked their way.

Finally turning to Law, she held out her hand for the gun, but he didn't move. Instead, his smirk widened.

"You said you'd never held a weapon before, but you handle that gun like an expert." He gestured to the comfortable grip Lexi kept on the handle. Anger, frustration, and a whole mix of other emotions flared up, and Lexi found she couldn't restrain her self. Without a word, she brought up the barrel and shot both rounds in the chamber, one after another, into the bale of hay. The paper target that had been taped on shredded to pieces and detached itself from the hail of pellets.

She turned to Law, who regarded her curiously. She wasn't so amused. "When I said I hadn't ever handled a weapon, I meant a sword. Guns?" She scoffed, ejecting the empty shell from the barrel. "I was raised with them."

Snatching the gun from his hands, she carried them both back inside the house. Law didn't follow, only watched her retreating figure with his smirk still in place.

_'_ _You are certainly full of surprises, Lexi-ya.'_

A moment later, a angry older man came wandering to the side of the back fence, several yards away. He gripped the top of the fence in a white-knuckled grip, fuming.

"I told that damn woman to quit her shooting! The next time it happens I'll get the cops involved!" He pointed at Law, who only smirked back.

"I'll be sure to tell her." He said, chuckling to himself as the man waved in a dismissive manner, forgetting all about the pirate Captain.

* * *

The atmosphere was tense after that. The pirates occupied the living room while Lexi put away all the groceries. They figured it would be best to let her cool down before trying to talk to her, which probably saved their life.

Nana had gone back into her room, but Lexi didn't bother trying to talk to her. Both of them were upset and it wouldn't do any good to talk at that moment. It would only make things worse.

After the food had been properly placed, she gathered up all the plastic bags and put them into one large one, stuffing it into a drawer for later use. They'd gather a good number of them, but Lexi knew they were still reusable and useful to have around.

Once done, she retrieved her discarded shoes and her purse and headed upstairs to her room. She didn't bother even looking at the others, though she could feel their stares on her back.

Closing the door behind her, she leaned her back against the door, resting her head on the wood. Having those pirates around was doing her more harm than good, especially the way they'd been thrown into her life…

The way she'd almost hit them, it was too similar…The eerie resemblance felt like a slap in the face to Lexi, and she couldn't stop the tears that began to form in her eyes. Shaking her head, she wiped at her eyes in frustration. Crying wasn't going to help any at this point.

It had been an entire decade since Lexi had been orphaned. A whole ten years that still hadn't mended the ache. She'd hoped time would make everything easier to deal with, but that saying, 'Time heals all wounds,' it didn't feel true anymore.

In a moment of weakness, Lexi went to the nightstand and opened the bottom drawer. It was empty at first glance but, lifting the false bottom she'd put in long ago, she withdrew the contents.

A little notebook, all she had left.

Flipping open the cover, she saw the all-too-familiar picture of her and her parents, dated June of 1999. A six-year-old Lexi held hands with each parent, and they were swinging her in the air. She looked so happy, settled between her mom and dad. Smiling in bittersweet happiness, she memorized their faces; mom, with her long black hair and sweet eyes, dad, with the short military cut brown hair that she'd inherited. She stroked the picture in sorrow, wishing they were still there.

"How the hell did it come to this?" She muttered, choking back a sob. A tear fell onto the page, soaking into the already-bumpy paper from previous teardrops. Closing it with a snap, she shoved it back under the bottom drawer, shutting the nightstand closed. All this emotion was getting her worked up, and she decided that bottling it all up was not going to help things.

She needed some fresh air. Changing into running attire and strapping on her sneakers, she grabbed her iPod from her purse and plugged the earphones in.

Stepping into the hall and down the stairs, all eyes were on her. She met them with indifference. "I'm going for a run. I'll be back in an hour." And with that, she left the house through the front door, turning the music on high and taking off down the road.


	7. Route 23

Sighing, Lexi glanced up at the sky to see that a storm was several miles away. The gray clouds sat at the horizon, and the damp air promised another rain, possibly torrential in magnitude like the night before. Deciding to get out of the house while she got the chance, Lexi plugged in her small iPod shuffle and inserted the headphones into her ears. Pressing play, she took off down the dilapidated sidewalk beside the road.

Her sneakers slapped against the concrete, but Lexi could only feel the vibration. The loud music drowned out all other noise and she let herself relax into the beat. Her car may not have radio, but her small laptop still had access to new and popular music, and so her music selection was much more modern. Though, somewhere in her heart, she preferred the classic tunes to anything.

The first car passed her when the opening notes of 'Natalie' began to play. Lexi smirked, turning up the music up a few more notches. They said blaring music into your ears was bad, but it honestly didn't bother her much. She'd deal with that years in the future.

"Oh, I've never done this before, never wanna do this again. Wrong turn down a dusty road, it did it to myself I can't pretend.

"Well, I learned just a little too late. Good God, I must've been blind, cuz she got me for everything, everything, everything, alright."

She sang, though because of the volume she couldn't hear herself. The sidewalk slowly changed into crumbling concrete, before turning completely into dirt and gravel. There wasn't a barrier between her and the cars, so she made sure to watch what was in front of her. Not that she could do much anyway if a passing vehicle decided to plow straight for her face.

That would be a bummer.

Her thighs began to burn, then right after that her calves. She was a pretty fit person, but compared to athletes, she was not in shape at all. With her main hobbies including listening to music, reading books, and the odd horrid dancing she did in her room to said music, she wasn't really trying too hard to keep a workout routine. Though, she did enjoy running to her music, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

She continued to run, and the song ended. The landscape changed so drastically, as she'd always noticed driving the long road to and from the university. One moment you were in rolling fields, the next, a looming forest of dense trees, and then suburbs further down the road. She liked the change, though, especially when on long runs.

The next song in the shuffle started to play, and she turned onto the dirt path that branched off into the woods. The temperature dropped some, but it still remained pretty humid. There wasn't much she could do about that though, as she was already sweaty from the workout and the atmosphere.

"Fergalicious definition make them boys go loco. They want my treasure so they get their pleasures from my photo. You could see me, you can't squeeze me. I ain't easy, I ain't sleazy. I got reasons why I tease 'em, boys just come and go like seasons, Fergalicious." Lexi sang, bobbing her head back and forth in time.

Her pace became much slower as she had to watch out for the occasional fallen branch and outlying rock. The sun wasn't especially strong that day, and so it was rather gloomy within the trees. Shadows bounced across the path, but Lexi had run along this route many times. The only times she was ever unsure was when a storm was approaching. There was supposed to be one, but not for several hours at least.

The path bent and zigzagged along the trees, sometimes opening into small clearings, but otherwise remained rather covered. She was about to round a bend, coming to a point where she couldn't see around the corner. Still running full speed, and having her music up so high, she couldn't see or hear the person running in the opposite direction down the same path.

The two ran smack dab into each other, and they fell backwards onto their butts.

* * *

"Lexi-chan seems…" Penguin tried to think of the right word, but Shachi helped him out.

"…Vicious, at least sometimes." He added, feeling like he was insulting their host, which when your thought about it, he was. Law smirked, seeing the grandmother shake her head sadly.

"Oh, don't blame her too much. She only means well." She coughed sharply, a sound that resonated from deep within her chest, and Law narrowed his eyes. Such a sound wasn't healthy, as his expertise in the medical field told him. His senses told him that there was possible damage to her lungs, but he didn't mention anything. With Nana the way she was, she'd probably just shoot him.

"She still seems a little scary." Bepo muttered, fidgeting with his bears, looking rather downtrodden. Nana brightened up, shushing the bear.

"Oh, hush now. Lexi can be rather brooding and cold, but she's a very sensitive person." Nana sighed, patting her leg in an unconscious way. Law was willing to bet she didn't even realize she did it. "She was never the same after losing her parents, my daughter and her husband."

Sadness filled her filled Law's. "How did they die?" His question was rather blunt and intrusive, but that seemed to compliment Nana's style quite well, and she didn't mention anything.

"They both passed in a car accident when she was nine, just up along route 23." She said, as if expecting them to know where that was. "It was raining pretty badly that day, very unsafe for anyone to be driving." She muttered.

"Then why did they?" Law cocked his head to the side.

"Oh, well Lexi had gotten into a fight with her parents just a few hours before. She packed up her little pink backpack and ran away. When her mother tried calling her for lunch, and she was nowhere to be found, they panicked and went to look for her out in the storm.

"Lexi had walked along route 23, looking for a bus station, though I suspect she was close to turning around and running back home. She was caught in the middle of the storm, you see. I'm surprised she made it that far. She's a strong one, that girl…" Her eyes were loosing focus and Law sensed she was beginning to get off track.

"What happened to the parents?" She nodded, and he saw the sorrow filling her eyes again.

"They were driving along route 23 at the same time Lexi was there. They just about hit her, but they swerved out of the way at the last second, sending the vehicle straight into a passing car. They both died on impact, as did the driver of the other car. The passenger was the only survivor, a boy named Logan, I believe."

"Hmm." Law said, processing this new information. "And Lexi-ya witnessed everything?"

Sighing again, Nana nodded. "She blames herself for their deaths, which is why I think she's trying so hard to do right by me. She wants to ease the guilt that she's piled up on herself, though there's no reason to feel that way. None of it was her fault."

Law was very composed about hearing Lexi's backstory, as was Bepo who merely lowered his head and whispered an apology to no one in particular.

The two engineers, however, weren't so composed.

"Poor Lexi-chan!" They cried, holding onto one another for comfort, tears streaming down their faces. "If only there was something we could do!"

Law grinned in amusement at his mens' reactions. They were always the dramatic type.

Nana rose from her seat, grunting with effort. Law held out a hand to help her, but she waved it off.

"Oh, I may be old but I'm still young enough to keep my stubbornness." She grinned. "If I were you, I'd keep what I told you to yourselves. If Lexi knew I told you, she'd be raisin' hell and sendin' down brimstone on your heels." She wandered into the kitchen, and opened the fridge. "Now, who wants peanut butter and honey sandwiches?"

* * *

"Lexi, hun, I love you but you need to not run face-first into me." Brittany rubbed her head, straightening from the ground. With a sheepish look, Lexi did the same.

"Yeah, sorry, couldn't see around the bend." They laughed a little, and Lexi noticed that her friend was similarly outfitted in running attire, her much nicer iPod's headphones dangling from a band around her arm.

"So, what's been up with you? You haven't answered my texts or anything. I was worried that storm took down your house of something." Lexi's eyebrows rose. In truth, with the craziness that had happened the day before, she hadn't even bothered to check her phone at all. Something was always keeping her busy…

"Nah, we're ok. And sorry, I haven't had much time to check it today. I went to the store earlier to get groceries-"

Brittany waved off her excuses. "No matter, at least I know you're alive." Brittany pulled out her phone from her sports bra. "Anyways, I saw the hottest guy at the mall this morning. You have to see him."

Lexi watched in amusement as her friend looked through her hundreds of pictures for a specific one. Lexi had never been as much into technology, besides her iPod and laptop, as her friend.

It was a wonder the two got along in the first place; Lexi was an introvert, preferring to keep to books and her own thoughts rather than going out and partying, and Brittany was a busy bee, always doing one thing or the next, and caught up in friends and such. The only thing in common they seemed to have was running. Every once in a while they'd run together, which were the few occasions Lexi didn't have some form of a music player on her. They didn't even talk all that much. And the one thing Brittany liked to talk about was boys. Nice looking boys.

Brittany showed her the phone. "I mean, look at this gorgeous face." Displayed on the picture was a black-haired boy, with a flat brim hat facing backwards, piercings covering his face. He wore some sort of band tee, though Lexi didn't recognize the name.

He wasn't that attractive, but seeing Brittany's hopeful face, she wasn't about to say so. "I'd say he's your type." Was all she said. She grinned, flicking through a few more pictures to herself.

 _'_ _Not as attractive as Law.'_  She thought before she could stop herself, imagining the smirking face of the strange man she'd rescued not even a day before. She kicked mental-Lexi in the face, screaming that she was not ever to think those things again. Then she realized Brittany was still talking.

"He's  _totally_  my type, and he even glanced at me as I passed by. I swear I saw him smile. Anyways, I've decided we're going to name our children Melody and Davie." Lexi laughed.

"I'm pretty sure you should inform him you two are going out before making decisions like that." She waved it off jokingly.

"Psh, he doesn't have to know. I'll just stalk him from a distance until he realizes I'm the love of his life."

As much as Lexi couldn't exactly connect with her friend, she was certainly a source of good entertainment. Brittany checked the time on her phone before stuffing it back into her workout bra.

"Well, much as I love talking, I've gotta finish this run. Don't wanna be late for a second trip to the mall later today! See ya lates, babe." She gave a wink before putting her headphones back in and heading off in the direction Lexi had come. Watching her round behind a branch of trees, Lexi plugged in her music once more, taking off down the path again, this time looking a little more carefully for other runners.

"Baby, I'm preying on you tonight, hunt you down eat you alive. Just like animals, animals, like animals-mals." She sang, getting lost in the music once more.


	8. A Sunday Drive

_*The Next Day*_

"I can't believe you convinced me to do this." Lexi muttered, trying to ignore Shachi and Penguin ooh-ing and ahh-ing at every new and little thing they saw. It was like they'd never even been out in the world at all. Did they live under a rock? Law, who sat in the passenger seat, simply smirked. Again. Much to her irritation.

"Understanding the world we're in will make things much easier for you, I'd imagine."

"Still not all the way convinced you're not aliens." She responded, driving down the main street of the city. The pirates, minus Bepo since a walking and talking polar bear would obviously bring unwanted attention, demanded to see what her world was really like. Lexi's suspicions that Law was only butt-hurt about not being able to go to the grocery store with her were growing.

"Lexi-chan, what's that?" The two in the back were pointing towards a building on the right side of the road. Glancing out the window, she saw the black and white vehicles with the lights on top in the parking lot. There was a large badge on the side of the building. Lexi grinned.

"That would be the police station. They're the 'cops' I mentioned before."

"So, they're like the Marines?" Shachi questioned, and she shrugged.

"Sure. If you break the law, they arrest you."

"I doubt we would be arrested for any sort of law-breaking that may occur during our time here." Law retorted, looking rather smug. Rolling her eyes, she bit the inside of her cheek.

"And why is that?" The thought of the pirates creating legal trouble was rather concerning. As far as money went, no part of her grandmother's assets was going to be spent bailing strangers out of jail. She didn't need the cops being brought into her life, especially since getting into med school was such a high priority. Having a criminal record probably wasn't a good thing to bring up in an interview.

In answer to her question. "Part of being a pirate is getting away with doing illegal things."

"There's no way we'd be caught!" Penguin boasted, high-fiving Shachi. Lexi continued driving, deciding to focus on the road instead of the possible future-convicts in the vehicle with her.

_'_ _Why am I still ok with having them around? I could've called the cops last night with my cell phone.'_

In truth, she really had thought about it. Several times, in fact. But something had stopped her every time. The image of the four pirates being dragged away in handcuffs, Bepo caged and probably brought to a zoo, it was heartbreaking. They hadn't-technically-done anything wrong. Besides threatening her with Law's giant and heavy-ass sword. Did people even use swords anymore? And…were they really from another world? Talking polar bears didn't exist. She was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that he could talk.

Maybe her morals weren't as pure as she'd thought they were? Hell, she didn't even know what she herself believed half the time.

Shaking her head, she sighed out loud. Thinking about the whole situation was just frustrating. Law seemed to notice her facial expressions.

"I would hate to think we're annoying you, Lexi-ya." He said sarcastically. One eyebrow raised, her doubt plainly obvious.

"I'm sure…"

* * *

The one building that had them the most curious happened to be the large shopping mall. They had marveled at its size, and the number of cars parked in front of it. They'd begged her to stop, and she reluctantly agreed, if only for the sake of keeping her eardrums intact.

"What's in there?" Shachi pointed as they exited the vehicle. "It's huge!"

"Is it some kind of arena?" Penguin guessed, closing the door. The four walked out towards the building, Lexi keeping an eye out for any passing cars. The building had a large red sign that said 'JCPenny.'

"No, it's just a huge place to shop. There's a ton of stores inside and-"

"Shachi! I bet there's more of those pay stations inside, like the grocery store!" His friend fist pumped the air, and the two hurried towards the double doors leading inside. Several people gave them strange looks, but they were otherwise ignored.

"I didn't say that…" She muttered, holding out a hand as if to stop them. "Ah well." Lowering it, she figured they'd find out for themselves that the mall and the grocery store were much different.

Law chuckled, walking past her and inside. "They're rather…rambunctious, when it comes to new things." He explained. Lexi had to laugh at that.

"That's an understatement, at least from what I've seen." He held the door open for her, and the two went inside after the other men.

Unfortunately, the doors led inside to the food court.

"Lexi-chan!" She heard, and she sighed deeply.

* * *

"I can't believe you were able to eat all of that." Lexi eyed the six trays of now-eaten food from the various vendors in the mall. One order from each of the Mexican, Chinese, Greek, Burger, Ice Cream, and Fried Chicken places. The thought of all that mixing together in a person was a little bit sickening.

Shachi and Penguin looked thoroughly stuffed, picking their teeth with the complimentary toothpicks that came with the Mexican cuisine. In all honesty, she wasn't sure how on earth it was possible for one human to eat so much food. The stomach only stretched so much, maybe they had insanely fast metabolisms…

"What, this? Ah, this is nothing compared to parties and feasts!" Penguin proclaimed, patting his belly in appreciation.

"Uh huh…" She muttered, and Law only leaned back in his chair.

"I've seen entire sea kings eaten in less than two days by my men. You'd be surprised what they're capable of when hungry." He closed his eyes, unaware of Lexi's confusion as to the meaning of the word 'sea kings.'

"Where to now?" Shachi asked, standing from his seat. This prompted the rest to do the same, and they deposited the garbage into the trashcan a few feet away. Lexi stretched out her arms and legs. It was good for her to do all this walking. She'd slept wrong the night before and now her joints were protesting every time she sat for too long. In answer to their question, she pointed towards the exit.

"Well, we could head home and-"

"We could see what kind of stores are around here. I want to see what people wear in your world!" Penguin started walking away, Lexi's half suggestion completely ignored and quickly forgotten.

"Yeah! And do they sell engine parts?" Shachi asked, following after his friend towards the first store. Lexi closed her eyes and rubbed at the bridge of her nose.

"...Or we could do that…" She muttered, hearing Law chuckle in amusement. The two followed behind the two excited engineers.

"There's no stopping them, is there?" She asked. Law shook his head.

"Even in our world they are a force to be reckoned with." She tilted her head, deciding to entertain her curious thoughts.

"So," She glanced at the 'Captain,' "What's your world like?" He raised an eyebrow, seemingly surprised by her sudden curiosity towards their origins. It wasn't like she'd tried to understand where they were from, as she still believed them to be escaped convicts or crazy people.

"Our world is…dangerous. Constantly in a state of war or unbalanced power. You're either a pirate, a Marine, or a regular citizen. Out of those three choices, none of them are exactly pleasant."

Lexi frowned. The way he made it sound, it was as if it were real. Maybe they were telling the truth…"What do you mean?"

He narrowed his eyes, looking far away as if remembering a memory. "Pirates are hated by the world and hunted down by Marines."

"Well, I would think so." She snarked, and he glared at the interruption. She raised her hands in apology. "Right, sorry. You were saying?"

He paused a moment, as if debating whether to continue. "The Marines are the 'savior of the people.' They supposedly embody everything that is just and right in the world, though more often than not the World Government, which controls the Marines, are as, if not more, corrupt as the pirates they fight."

"Hmm…A single governing body for the entire world?" He nodded, and she raised her eyebrows in wonder. They passed by a couple with several large shopping bags, the girl pointing to another store as the guy sighed heavily. She grinned; he was having the time of his life, it seemed.

"The citizens are taught to believe that the World Government is good. Any act against them is a crime and must be punished. As a result, those that defy the World Government usually become pirates or are executed."

She frowned. "That sounds…pretty harsh." A world where death was so common? Sure, her world had death everywhere but it always seemed…somewhere else. As if it didn't exist. She hadn't felt massive amounts of death personally. Besides her parents, she'd never been around it. "Why would you want to live in a world like that?"

He shrugged, as if it didn't matter to him, and gestured to the people around him. "A life like this, where people simply enjoy what they have," He shook his head, "I don't trust it."

"Why would you not trust it?" They'd reached the store where the two engineers had gone. Law looked her directly in the eye, and she felt a little afraid.

"None of these people fear that they'll one day lose everything. No one fears the possibility of dying at any moment. I don't trust it."

The implications, and the intensity with which he looked at her…He had experienced whatever loss he was referring to, and he'd felt it in full. There was some sort of event that had left him scarred for the rest of his life, she knew.

Because she had a similar scar.

"I know what you mean." She mumbled, passing by him to go deeper into the store in search of the two idiots.


	9. Land of Heavenly Ladies

"Shachi? Penguin?" Lexi called, moving between the racks of shirts and pants with price tags much higher than was reasonable. They'd wandered into a California Republic. The lighting inside was a little darker than out in the main walkway. She blinked to adjust to the change. Passing by the mannequins of male models, she spotted them taking jackets off hangers and putting them on.

"This one is super tight, but it's got so many pockets!" Penguin looked through a thick cargo jacket, stuffing his hands in the various pockets adorning the front. "I could fit all my tools in it!"

"Look at this shirt." He held up a t-shirt, showing his friend. "Cali For Nia? Who's Nia? What's a Cali?" Penguin rubbed at his chin.

"Hmm…" He snapped, pointing at the shirt. "Maybe it's that bear? But why would you give someone a bear?"

"Uh…guys?" Lexi said, approaching the two. They looked up, smiling in excitement.

"Lexi-chan, what is a Cali? And who is Nia?" Shachi held up the shirt for reference, and she laughed beside herself. They looked concerned for a moment, but she recovered quickly.

"It's not Cali For Nia, it's  _California._  California is a state."

"Oooohhhh…" They said in unison, and Shachi put the shirt back. Law appeared at her side, inspecting the clothing around him with interest and slight alarm.

"The attire in your world is rather…diverse." He stated, looking at a red crop top with white sequined letters spelling 'BACON.' Lexi snorted at the sight of it, appalled that such a shirt even existed.

"Can we get something?" Penguin asked, putting the jacket away as well. Getting over her fit of laughter, Lexi sighed, giving an apologetic little smile.

"Sorry, guys, but money is pretty tight nowadays. I let you binge with the food but that's the last time." Their shoulders fell a little, but there wasn't much Lexi could do. With a tiny chuckle, she gestured out the door. "Let's go."

"Awww…" They muttered, putting everything back where it went. Law smirked, leaning in closer to whisper in her ear.

"There's nothing to stop me from simply taking what I want." She gave him a deadpan look before pointing towards the security sensors on either side of the door.

"See those?" His gaze followed her finger, and he nodded. "If anything is taken past that and it hasn't been bought, loud alarms will go off and the security will come and arrest you. How are you gonna get past that?"

His eyes narrowed, grin still in place as he rubbed his chin. "Hmm…Everything has a solution." She huffed, grabbing his elbow forcefully.

"Let's go before you get us all thrown out and in jail." He chuckled, following after her and his two crew men.

* * *

Outside the store, people milled about with shopping bags as they clutched crying children or talking into their cellphones. Lexi looked around in an attempt to find the nearest exit, but it quickly became apparent that there wasn't one. The cheerful tracks of the newest pop hit played on the speakers overhead, though no one appeared to be listening.

Suddenly, she heard her own cellphone buzz in the front pocket of her bag. Grabbing it out, she checked the screen. It was a message from Brittany, complete with multiple smiley faces and exclamation points.

_Lex, I've found the perfect sweater for my date with the hottie!1! :D It's blue and it says 'I Support Sweatshirts and Messy Hair! XP You gotta see it! :P I'll send the pic! :)_

Rolling her eyes, she moved to put it away, but Law had unfortunately seen her pull it out.

"I've seen many people with the same devices. What is it?" He questioned, going so far as to take it out of her hand.

"Hey!" She tried grabbing it, but he dangled it out of reach. Smirking, he looked at the screen.

"Is this a message from someone you know?" His eyebrows furrowed, and Shachi and Penguin gathered around him to look.

"It's a cellphone. You can talk to people through it, but you have to have that person's specific phone number."

"So it's just like a den den mushi!" Penguin concluded, still eyeing the strange design and structure of the cell phone.

"Ehh? So cool! What's this button do?" Shachi reached forward and pushed the 'Call' button before Lexi could stop it.

"Wait a minute! Who are you calling?" She tried grabbing the phone but Law held her back with one hand easily. Frustrated, she flailed her arms in an attempt to knock it out of his hand but to no avail. He smirked.

"I wonder what is so important about this device that you want to keep it a secret?" Suddenly, the thing stopped ringing, and a person's voice came through.

"Hello?" Lexi stood there, horrified. They'd called Brittany.

Law frowned deeply, looking at the thing strangely. "This device is rather strange, but no different than what we-"

"Lexi? Hey, Lex? Are you there or did whoever I'm talking to find this phone?" She asked in a confused voice. Lexi tried once again to grab the thing, but Law was still holding it.

"Who are you?" Shachi asked, trying to see where there was a face on it. Maybe they didn't work exactly like snails phones after all.

"Uhh…I should be asking you that. You're on Lexi's phone. And you are definitely not her." Brittany sound a bit suspicious, and Lexi was glad she didn't just take things as they came.

"What is your name, Miss?" Law asked, curiosity effectively piqued. It was very entertaining to learn the many uses and features of her world's items, though seeing her angry and desperate face was half the fun.

"…" Her friend didn't answer for a second. "Why, I'm Brittany of course."

Lexi sighed, face palming herself at the dramatic shift in voice tone. Replacing the confusion was now what Lexi knew to be her seductive voice; lower tone and slowed speech, the kind that she used on who she thought were attractive men.

"Well, Brittany-ya, it was a pleasure to speak to you." Law grinned at Lexi's red face, thoroughly enjoying the dilemma she'd placed herself in.

"I didn't know Lexi had a…man around." She giggled, at which point the brunette had had enough.

"Hand the phone over. Now." She demanded, and Law decided that she'd endured enough torment for one afternoon. Which left the evening open for all sorts of mayhem designated for her.

"It appears our time conversing is over, as Lexi-ya demands." Law said, and since the phone was somehow on speaker, she could hear her friend sigh loudly.

"Aww, already? Well, I'll definitely talk to you again soon, hun."

 _'_ _She's really laying it on thick…'_  Lexi thought, finally managing to snatch her cellphone from the pirate's hand, and walking away briskly. Making sure to turn off the speaker, she brought the electronic up to her ear.

"Brittany?" She asked, wondering if she was still on the line.

"Lex, how come you didn't tell me you were with the company of an extremely hot-sounding guy? From his voice alone I can tell he is a 12 on a scale of 10. I demand a picture. Right now. And for God's sake, tell me he's single."

Face quickly turning even deeper shades of red, Lexi rubbed the back of her neck, glancing back at the pirates to make sure they weren't listening.

"Ah, see that's not-"

"Are you dating him?" She demanded, and Lexi's eyes widened.

"Of course not!"

"Well then he is free, and I am free, so I'd like to make us both not free." Lexi sighed, noticing that Law was walking over with that stupid smirk, followed by the two idiot engineers.

"Look, Brit, I gotta go. I'll talk to you later."

"Uh huh. And I want all the juicy details about that sexy piece of-" Lexi hung up before Law could hear her friend's voice through the receiver. She shoved her phone in her pocket, zipping it up so no one would take it.

"A friend of yours?" He asked, his grin widening at the state of her facial complexion. She frowned, straightening her back and neck in a dignified pose, before walking away further into the mall.

"Wait for us, Lexi-chan!" The two pirates ran after her, leaving Law to follow up last. She could feel his amusement dancing at her back through his gaze alone, but she wouldn't allow him the satisfaction of seeing her flustered any longer.

* * *

She should have known, really. Should have known that something like this would happen, especially from the way the two had been partial to staring at her during their stay at the house. Whatever notion had led Lexi to walk past  _this_  particular store was really letting her down. Her fingers tried to rub away the quickly growing headache.

"I wouldn't think a store as…racy as this would be so boldly advertised." Law commented, arms folded as he leaned against a potted plant in the middle aisle.

"Yeah, well, welcome to America." She muttered, watching as the two, now obvious perverts, sat on their knees drooling at the entrance of Victoria's Secret.

The mannequins were outfitted with an assortment of patterned and sexy lingerie, with fake wings attached at the back. Posters for women with the same wings decorated the tops of the displays and on the moveable advertisements outside. Lexi could see several women inside looking rather alarmed by the two creepy men sobbing at the entrance.

"Heavenly ladies!" Shachi cried, holding his hands out as if in praise, Penguin was sobbing pathetically into the tile, too awestruck for words. Both of their noses were bleeding rather heavily, though when Lexi offered to get them stuff to clean it up, they refused to move from that spot.

"Is this normal?" She inquired, not bothering to glance at the hoodie-wearing Captain. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him shrug.

"Very."

"Lexi-chan, this place is beyond what our dreams could ever be!" Shachi sputtered, and she couldn't help but grin. "Are we allowed inside?" He asked meekly, turning to her with a hopeful face and clasped hands.

"Uh uh, no way. I am not allowing you inside there with a reaction like that." She held her hands up in a stop gesture, and both men sweat dropped.

"But…but…!" They grasped at straws, trying to think of a reason to allow them inside. "Can I just sniff one of them?" Her face changed to one of horror, and crossed her arms.

"I think you guys have had enough of the mall for one day. Or even your entire life." They slumped over in defeat, and she checked her watch. "It's getting late anyways, and I still have to start dinner."

The mention of food seemed to be the cure for the perverted engineers' depression. They brightened up and followed her towards the way they had come.

"Ooh, can I get second helpings since I'm your favorite?" Penguin raised his hand, and Shachi immediately punched him in the back of the head.

"Baka, Lexi-chan likes  _me_  more. I'm her favorite." His friend scowled back.

"No way!"

"Shachi-ya, Penguin-ya, we don't want to cause a scene." Law said, instantly silencing them. Then, a second later, he smirked again. "Why not just ask her yourselves?"

Lexi deadpanned, watching as both idiots turned to her for the answer. She found a loophole, however, and grinned in satisfaction.

"Bepo's my favorite and no one else!"

"Dammit…" They muttered, and she chuckled. As stressful as these pirates made her life, they certainly were entertaining.


	10. Similarities

"What about that place?" Penguin pointed at the window.

"No." He pursed his lips, before spotting another building and pointing to it.

"That one?" Lexi glanced out the window then shook her head.

"Nope." He huffed, and Shachi joined him looking outside, the slight drizzle of rain landing on the glass.

"Wait, that's one, isn't it?" Lexi followed his finger, and saw the golden arches that indicated the McDonald's. She sighed with another shake of her head.

"Yes, that's a fast food place. But no, we aren't going to eat there."

"Aww…" The two engineers pouted together in the back, crossing their arms like children. Law only raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"What exactly is, 'fast food?' What about it is fast?" Lexi slowed and crossed over into the left turn lane, switching on her windshield wipers as the rain began to pick up. In front of her, a shiny red Lexus was waiting for the green arrow to turn. With a small grin, she noticed that Law repeatedly followed the wipers with his eyes.

"It's just a place that you can get food for cheap, and it's a lot faster than cooking something yourself. Mostly people just use them to eat on the go, like if you're running late for work or just want something quick for lunch." The light turned green and she pressed on the gas again.

"Wouldn't you want dinner to be quick?" Shachi asked, poking his head through the middle into the front row of seats.

"Yeah, but the only problem is it costs money. And since you blew through my weekly allowance like it was pocket change, we don't get to have anything like that until at least next week." She gave a pointed look at the two idiots through the rearview mirror, and they blushed guiltily.

The subject of time brought up another thought to her mind, and she glanced at Law, had remained mostly quiet since they had left the mall. "Uh…when, or I should say how, are you guys gonna get back to…your world?"

"Yeah, Captain. What are we gonna do?" Penguin looked over to the man in front, who shrugged.

"There's not much to go on, especially since we don't know what caused us to be brought here in the first place. Until we find that out, we'll have to stay with Lexi-ya." He turned that overly-innocent grin onto her, and she scowled. Much as she was starting to enjoy having the pirates around, they didn't belong in her world. They weren't meant for the things Lexi had.

"Great…" She muttered, deciding to focus all of her attention on the road and not the tiny bit of disappointment that sat in her chest.

* * *

"Nana, dinner's almost ready!" Lexi knocked on the main bedroom door, and she heard her grandmother respond from inside.

"I'll be out in just a second!" Satisfied that she was in a lucid state, or at least she so hoped, Lexi returned to the kitchen where the chicken was roasting in the oven. Upon turning the corner, she laid eyes on the two idiots hovering around the glass to try to see inside.

"Ahem." She said, and they straightened with wide eyes. "It's almost done, just let it sit for a little longer."

"Sorry, Lexi-chan!" They scuttled from the room, taking places on the couch beside Law. Bepo sat on the floor in front of them, as he'd come to the conclusion that he was too large for the couches. She'd felt bad about it, seeing as the floor wasn't too comfortable, but he'd waved away her worry and said that he was used to the ground. There was still a little doubt in her though.

Checking over the food, she saw that it would take another five minutes before it was done. There was nothing to do but wait now, and so she grabbed herself a cup of iced tea and wandered into the living room with the others.

She frowned, wondering why they were watching Family Feud of all things.

"You know you can change the channel, right?" She sat in the armchair, across from them. Law only glanced in her direction before turning back to the program at hand.

"I'm aware. We experimented with the 'remote' and discovered its many uses." His answer sounded like there was some trial and error involved with discovering those uses, but she intentionally didn't ask. Perhaps it'd be better if she didn't know anyways.

"Uh…right." She said nothing more, opting to simply wait for the timer on the oven to go off.

"You attend schooling of some kind?" Law asked a few minutes later, startling her slightly. He wasn't one to start random conversations, or so she'd come to realize in their few days of staying at the house.

"Oh, yeah. I go to the university in the town over. I-how did you know that?" She asked suddenly, coming to the conclusion that no one had mentioned school at all in their presence. He smirked, enjoying her confused state of mind.

"Simple observation." She narrowed her eyes in return. He wasn't about to admit that he'd snooped through her room when she wasn't looking.

"Hmm…yeah, I do."

"What do you study?" Shachi asked, turning his attention to her.

"I'm a medical student, so I want to be a nurse eventually." She shrugged. "My mom was one, and Nana was a medic way back when. It kinda runs in the family I guess."

"Really? Captain's a doctor too." Shachi said, and Law nodded.

"What kind of doctor?" Lexi asked, her interest just a little bit piqued. With the tattoos and piercings, fuzzy hat and all, he didn't exactly  _look_  like a doctor. Though, she supposed looks could be deceiving.

"A surgeon, though I'm knowledgable in most areas of practice." She nodded slowly, impressed beyond the fact.

"Wow, and you're what…not even 30? Or you just look really young…" She trailed off, feeling a bit awkward with that line of conversation.

"I'm 25." He raised an eyebrow, unsure why she was blushing slightly. Subconsciously, she was calculating their difference in age. Internally, she kicked herself and forced that subject out of her mind. Why she had started crunching the numbers was beyond her anyways.

The timer in the kitchen began to go off and she sat up a little too quickly. "Dinner's done then." She scurried off to take it out, and the others followed behind her.

* * *

The six of them sat at the dinner table, eating the chicken dinner Lexi had prepared. She was glad it turned out alright. On occasion she'd accidentally let the food burn in the oven and they'd been forced to order takeout. That would be embarrassing now, considering that they had 'guests' over. Guests who conveniently didn't know when they'd be leaving.

Bepo somehow had wedged himself into the chair, and was eating at the table as well. She almost laughed when he looked down on the plate in disappointment. Perhaps he was lamenting the lack of

"This is awesome, Lexi-chan!" Penguin said through a mouth stuffed full of green beans and chicken meat. Beside him, Shachi was doing much the same thing. They ate as if it were the only food left in the entire world, and them starving men. She blinked a few times before fully recovering from their blatant lack of proper dinner etiquette. She doubted as pirates they practiced good eating behaviors.

"T-thanks." She went back to timidly picking at her plate. Nana chuckled at the two men's enthusiasm.

"My, you're quite a couple of eaters! Do they feed you anything over there in Greece?" She laughed again, taking large bites of the food.

The rest of dinner went by without much chatter. There were the occasional compliments from the engineers to her cooking, and Nana marveled at Greece's culture, but other than that it was mostly silent. Lexi noticed Law didn't say much, looking decidedly lost in his own thoughts.

After they'd all had their fill, the pirates and Nana returned to the living room to watch TV. Lexi remained in the kitchen and began cleaning up the dishes. While doing the dishes themselves wasn't her favorite thing in the world, she liked having the opportunity to think to herself without distractions.

To say she was still confused and overwhelmed by the presence of the pirates was an understatement. They seemed innocent enough, but her heart rate quickened every time they mentioned something dangerous or even remotely illegal. For god's sake, they were  _pirates._  They probably did illegal things for  _fun._

And another thing. What was she gonna say when people started asking about him? It's not like they could stay cooped up in the house the whole time. And what about Bepo? She didn't know a lot about polar bears, but they were animals. Was she in danger of being eaten? What if someone reported him in her house? He could possibly get taken away and thrown in a zoo.

She shook her head. Sometimes she could be so pessimistic.

And what about Brittany? She was nosy by nature. Due to the unfortunate series of events from earlier, she already knew about one of them. Now, she would make it her life's mission to find him and date him…probably. It was the way of Brittany. Lexi sighed, scrubbing away at the large pan used for chicken.

Seeing her in class would be even more awkward. She'd probably ask her so many questions her head would spin. And most of them would make her very uncomfortable to answer…

Class! She forgot all about class!

* * *

Law sat next to his engineers, watching another few episodes, as Nana had called them, of Family Feud. As much as Lexi's world still confused him, he was surprised at how easily he could grasp the concept of the 'gameshow.' The world's culture was vastly different from their own, and he was intrigued with what aspects they had in common. Gameshows were not one of them, however.

He could hear Lexi cleaning the dishes in the kitchen, and he was half tempted to send Shachi or Penguin in to help her. Suddenly, he heard a pan hit the counter, louder than the usual click of metal to stone, and the water immediately stopped running.

"Shit." He heard her mutter, probably louder than she'd anticipated. In the next instant, she was jogging past the living room and up the stairs to her room. Closing it behind her, Law heard the lock engage.

"What was that all about?" Shachi asked, and Law only shrugged in response.

"What man in their right mind would go to his mother-in-law for advice? The nerve of these producers!" Nana shouted up at the TV, and he focused his attention back onto the show.


	11. Sleep is For the Weak

Glancing at the clock, Lexi sighed in frustration and exhaustion, willing the red number to be anything earlier than what it was. It was 10:54, meaning she'd studied for at least three hours straight. Placing her yellow highlighter down on the desk and stretching her cramped fingers, she rubbed at her face with a moan. It felt good to move her muscles in ways besides writing notes. Though the temporary pain sucked.

She'd filled at least ten pages with various facts about ions and microbiological facts. With all the compositions and names of parts of cells bouncing around in her brain, she thought it might explode if she had to memorize one more thing.

Her small desk lamp was the only thing illuminating the room, and she glanced around. The little amount of light cast shadows across the walls, including her own enlarged image on the wall. She wiggled her fingers, taking small pleasure in seeing them a lot longer than reality.

There was a tiny knock on the door, and she jumped with a loud gasp from her seated position. The hairs on her entire body stood on end at the shock, and she placed a hand on her chest to steady her heart beat.

"It's open." She called softly, and the person turned the knob. Upon seeing who it was, she sighed. "Why are you up so late? It's like 11 o'clock."

Law raised an eyebrow, smirk spreading across his face. "I could say the same to you."

Sparing a glance at the desk, covered in two medical textbooks, notebooks, highlighters, pencils and pens, she picked up the blue marker, twirling it between her fingers out of boredom.

"Studying for class. I completely forgot about it, no thanks to  _some_  people." The glare she sent his way was genuine, though she knew it was mostly her fault for not remembering. He only smirked wider, unfortunately for her.

"A shame. I came to tell you your grandmother went to bed and asked me to let you know." She nodded, eyes falling to a half-lidded state.

"Ah, I see. Thanks." Her mouth stretched open in a yawn, but she shook her head to try keeping awake. "Dammit, I've still got 30 more pages to go, I can't be tired."

He stalked closer, eyes landing on the open textbooks. "What exactly are you studying?" Th diagrams of cells and familiar definitions caused him to unconsciously go over what he knew about the subject. He had plenty of books on the same subject in his room on the sub.

"It's the longest chapter out of the book. It's about the microbiological side of anatomy. There are so many functions of organelles and processes I have to memorize I'm about ready to rip my hair out." She ran her hands through her hair, displaying her frustration. She sighed again, leaning her elbows against the desk. "The book doesn't explain things very well either, so we're basically left on our own to learn it."

"Hmm…" He examined the highlighted sections of the pages, comparing them to her notes.

"And your teacher won't help you?" She scowled, turning the book to the next page, taking off the cap of the highlighter.

"I can't understand a thing he teaches. And the sucky part is, he's the only professor that teaches the upper level anatomy session, so I'm stuck with him." Grumbling, she read the next few sentences and highlighted key words.

Law stood by silently for a few moments, seeming to watch as she worked. Suddenly, she wasn't sure why he'd stayed so long, listening to her rant on about college. In fact, why was he still lingering in her room? Why had she even let him in? She opened her mouth, about to tell him to leave, but he beat her to it.

"I could teach you."

His words stopped her short, and she opened and closed her mouth a few times. She looked directly at him, the single lamp illuminating only half of his face. One gray eye glinted, the other shadowed in darkness. He was smirking, as always, but this one showed a hint of cunning and intelligence. It was intimidating, seeing him in this light and with this intensity. She hadn't answered his question, and it took a moment for her brain to catch up.

"U-um, you'd…really?" Coming out, it was a lot clunkier and hesitant than she'd meant it, but her surprise was fairly impossible to hide at this point. She must have looked ridiculous, because he chuckled quietly.

"Yes, really. I suppose it is one way of repaying you for your hospitality." He folded his hands behind his back, waiting on her to answer. Lexi looked back to the books, wishing that her gaze alone could set fire to the abominable pages. If only she hadn't paid a couple hundred dollars to have them, she would have seriously thought about it. Still, the offer was rather tempting.

She was smart, she would admit that. Anatomy was so interesting and unique, and Lexi loved it, but it was the most frustrating thing in the world to understand. Growing up in a medical field environment, it was no wonder she'd taken up the passion with which her family perceived anatomy. The only thing was, there wasn't really anyone to pass that knowledge down onto her. Even when Nana was lucid, she had trouble learning anything medical from her because it all included World War 2 era medical techniques and procedures.

Now, an actual surgeon, or a self-proclaimed one at least, was offering to tutor her. It seemed almost like an internship.

Sure, the guy seemed creepy, but he hadn't actually done anything to warrant her hatred yet. Except call Brittany, but that wasn't really relevant. With a heavy sigh, she nodded.

"Alright, grab a chair." She pointed to the other rolling chair in the corner she kept for the rare occasion when Brittany came over. He grinned, wandering over to the chair and dragging it beside her. She rubbed at her face sleepily as he took a seat, berating herself for forgetting her studies.

* * *

It didn't take Law very long to recognize that Lexi was quite intelligent. His explanations and descriptions made complete sense to her, and the only times she asked him to repeat himself was when she couldn't keep up with writing the notes. There wasn't any confusion or strange looks directed at him when he mentioned a complicated medical term, which he found refreshing. It got rather taxing when most people you met weren't medically inclined like him.

Much as she wanted to sleep, she worked diligently, and even Law was impressed. Many times she held back yawns of rubbed at her eyes to stay awake. He'd even suggested stopping several times and she'd insisted on finishing the chapter.

Somewhere between 1 and 1:30, her mumblings became increasingly quiet to the point that Law could barely make sense of her words. Being the night owl that he was, he watched with curiosity as she literally worked herself to sleep, pencil gliding slower and slower across the pages of her notebook.

It was only after she stopped completely that he rose from his chair.

* * *

_*The Next Morning*_

"Mmmm…" Lexi muttered, feeling something hard jabbing into her cheek. Slowly, she began to register the pain in her back and cheek, and the wet sensation at her mouth. Squeezing her eyes tightly, she slowly opened one a second later.

Filtered light streamed from the window, casting pale strips of light over her desk. Lexi's head rested against her anatomy textbook. Taking a quick breath, she raised her head from the sideways position. Rubbing her face to get rid of the stiffness, she groaned. The corner of her book had been poking into her face, creating a painful impression of the pages on her cheek. She could feel the indentation against her fingers.

She'd fallen asleep at her desk, studying for class. It wasn't the first time, but it wasn't her favorite feeling in the world to wake up with a sore neck and back. The vertebrae snapped back into place with painful but satisfying pops.

When she straightened, something fell back from her back. Turning, she saw a blanket from her bed had been wrapped around her shoulders, falling as she'd stretched. She frowned, knowing that she hadn't had it when studying. Then she remembered.

Law. He'd offered to help her. The quiet tones and definitions and descriptions all came back, a lot easier than she'd thought they would. As complicated as the subject material was, the pirate had explained it in a way that was simple and easy to remember.

She looked around but didn't see the captain anywhere. Even the chair he'd used was pushed back into place in the corner, as if it had never been moved.

Her eyes wandered to the clock, and her eyes widened.

"Shit…" It was 9:38 A.M. Her first class started at 10. There wasn't time to shower and get ready now. Pushing away from the desk she rose and dressed into new clothes. Throwing her hair up into a messy bun, she grabbed all of her school stuff and threw it in her book bag, gathering the textbook and notes from the night before as well.

Once everything was gathered and she was put together, it was 9:41. It would take her a good fifteen minutes, if she sped, to get to the campus. Sighing again, she double checked she'd grabbed everything and stepped out into the upstairs hallway.

The others were already up, as the door to their room was open and showed it empty. She took the stairs quickly, meeting the men in the kitchen.

Penguin and Shachi were eating toast, Law, who's hat sat on the table, held a coffee mug, and Bepo was snoring softly as he lay on the living room floor.

"Morning, Lexi-chan!" The idiots said cheerfully. At her hurried entrance, Law raised an eyebrow.

"Going somewhere?" She went to the fridge and opened the doors, searching inside for something to eat on the go. Seeing an apple, she grabbed it and took a large bite.

"The university. Running late, kinda gotta hurry." Her feet carried her into the living room, where Nana sat perched on the couch ready to scream at the newest episode of Family Feud. "I'm heading to school, Nana."

"Be mindful of any Nazi spies! Report any suspicious behavior you have to your unit!" She advised, and Lexi shook her head.

"Will do." Heading towards the door, she was stopped by Law, who had put on his hat and stood in the kitchen doorway with his hands in his pockets.

"I'm coming with you." He stated, his easy smirk in place. Her eyebrows rose, eyes widening.

"Excuse me?"

"I want to see what this university is like. There's nothing you can do to stop me from going." He said with authority.

Grabbing an umbrella from the closet, conveniently the one that Law's sword was stuffed in, she slammed it shut. One quick glance at her watch told her she'd better leave soon. Arguing with the pirate would only make her more late. At this point, it would just be easier to agree with him and deal with it later.

"God Dammit...Fine." She muttered, throwing open the door. "Just stay with me the whole time and don't talk to anyone or touch anything." She demanded. He followed her to the truck, climbing in the passengers seat with a very smug look.

As they pulled out of the driveway, she could see Penguin and Shachi's faces smashed up against the window, watching them pull away. She had a sinking feeling that today wouldn't go as smoothly as she'd been hoping.


	12. The New Professor

The entire drive to the college felt a lot longer than it normally lasted. Even while speeding down the road at 10 mph above what the posted speed limit was, it felt like forever. Sure, Lexi wasn't completely awake yet, the drowsiness still weighed her eyes down a little. But that wasn't what made it feel so long.

Law kept asking her so many questions.

"What are universities like?" He would ponder his own question before asking another one, spacing them all out and yet not really waiting for an answer to any of them. "Are they endorsed by the Government?"

"What sort of medical technology does your world have? Have they figured out the cure for cancerous cells in the body? Are hospitals structured as-"

"Ok, it is  _way_  too early in the morning for this." Lexi finally interrupted with a wave of her hand. Sighing, she rubbed at her temple. "I just want to get to class without my brain exploding. Please."

Law smirked from the passenger seat, settling back in the chair. "If you insist."

She relished the silence while she could, concentrating on driving instead. Even with the pirate quiet, she knew his mind was analyzing and thinking over everything he heard and saw. Sometimes it amused her but there were moments, this one included, when it was just irritating.

The large plain shifted into another small forested area, and the sun was blocked by the many trees on either side. Lexi's irritation slowly began to fade at the scenery. She sure did love the look of West Virginia. It was so beautiful, but her favorite time of the year was autumn, when all the fall colors would decorate the plains as leaves fell and blew onto the ground.

She was lost in her thoughts and didn't realize they'd reached the college. With a start, she pulled into the parking lot where all the other cars were currently parked. Luckily there was a spot in the middle of the mass and so she didn't have to go searching for one forever, making her even later for class. Taking a glance at her watch, it was 9:58. She could still make it on time!

Scrambling out of the truck, she slammed the door closed and watched as Law exited as well.

"We gotta go, or I'm gonna be late." She explained, locking the truck with the key and jogging onto the path towards the middle of campus. "I don't have time to answer questions right now so I'll do it later."

He raised an eyebrow, but nonetheless nodded, following her to the lecture hall.

* * *

Penguin and Shachi lay lounged on the couch, watching yet  _another_  episode of Family Feud. When Lexi had said that the gameshow was the only thing Nana watched, she wasn't kidding. The two were extremely and utterly bored, thus they lay on the couch with agonized groans.

"What are we supposed to doooooo?" Shachi moaned, sinking further off the cushion to the floor. Bepo lay on the ground nearby, catching up on some much-needed rest. But, he too, was getting a little bored of laying around the house all day.

Nana was still sleeping. No amount of yelling or screaming would wake the woman. She was essentially a brick from the deepness she slept. That meant they had to try to figure out something on their own, and they weren't happy with that.

"We could change the channel and see what else is on?" Penguin suggested, and Shachi tossed the idea around for a moment.

"Alright, maybe we can find a channel with those women again." Their mouths began to salivate at the thought of the winged mannequins at the mall. Immediately, they grabbed the remote and stared at the device.

"Hmm…I think Captain pressed this one." Shachi said, clicking a button. The channel changed, showing a man standing with a bunch of numbers and clouds behind him.

"…with the next few days having the greatest chance of a shower. The cold front will hit us by Friday, but immediately be pushed back by a wave of warmer, more humid air."

"This is boring." Penguin said, and they pressed the button again. The screen changed to a show that looked like a child's drawing. It showed a little girl and a small monkey-type animal besides her.

"Uh oh! That sounds like Swiper! We have to watch out for Swiper the Fox. If you see Swiper, say 'Swiper!'" The two looked around to try to find him, and Penguin and Shachi glanced at each other.

"I wonder what this is."

"Baka, it looks like it's for little kids or something." They were about to press the button when a orange fox wearing a blue mask popped up in the corner of the screen. Immediately, and before Shachi could really understand what he was doing, he pointed to the TV. "Swiper! He's there!"

"Turn around, little girl, he's right there!" Penguin joined in, shouting and pointing at the TV with equal enthusiasm. The little girl didn't turn however, but continued looking at them from her fixed spot on the path with the monkey.

"You see Swiper?" She asked.

"Yes!" They shouted, gesturing more and more at the fox now disappearing and popping up in a closer place. "He's right there!"

"Where?" She asked, glancing around.

"RIGHT. THERE!" The music began to pick up and the fox appeared in an even closer spot.

"He's so quick!" The girl said, looking around for the animal. "Let's all say it together now."

The girl and the monkey held up their hands and faced the fox, who was now visible. "Swiper, no swiping. Swiper, no swiping."

"What are they doing? Take out a gun and shoot him or something!" Penguin pulled at the ends of his hat, frustrated beyond belief.

"Foxes eat people you know!" Shachi added. "Look behind you, god dammit!"

The fox got closer and closer, but the two kept shouting the same thing over and over. "Swiper, no swiping. Swiper, no swiping. Swiper, no swiping!"

Then, the fox snapped his fingers and said, "Oh man!" before disappearing into the bushes once again.

"We did it! Swiper didn't swipe anything from us! Great job!" She yelled, before walking away with the monkey once more.

The engineers sat there dumbfounded. "WHAT? HOW DOES THAT MAKE SENSE?"

"You can't just yell at a fox to make it go away!" Shachi shouted, making all sort of confused and frustrated gestures at the tv.

"Change the channel before something else happen!" Penguin pleaded, and Shachi complied.

* * *

At 10:03, Lexi and Law entered the large lecture hall where her medical anatomy class was taught. The room was slightly darkened, as usual, and the platform down at the front was brightly lit, where the teacher wrote notes on the board.

Quietly walking down to the rows of seats, Lexi and Law chose the ones at the back so no one would give her strange looks. Besides, she didn't really want the professor to know that she'd brought someone who wasn't taking the course with her.

"…so the functions of the microvilli are to increase the surface area of the cell and to absorb and secrete." Professor Hauser drawled, and Lexi internally groaned at the man's voice. It was so slow and boring. She realized now that she was in danger of falling asleep if this went any longer. Digging out all her note taking things, she settled in her seat and began the arduous process of copying everything he wrote.

* * *

Beside her, Law was eyeing the whole hall with curiosity and confusion. This was an institution? He glanced around at the other students, silently taking down notes with dutiful patience. No one asked questions. No one spoke. There was no debate or discussion, both essential elements of learning. How was this a learning environment when no learning could be done?

It came as no wonder that Lexi was having such a hard time memorizing everything from the class. The teacher was so inept at teaching the material that even Law was getting bored. Which was saying something since the human body intrigued him so much.

Daring a glance at Lexi, he saw her yawn and scrawl a few more words on the paper before looking back up to the professor. He continued writing out the information on the board, and despite Law's good vision he had trouble reading what the man jotted down.

With a tiny sigh, he leaned back in the seat and rolled his eyes. This boring recitation of medical information was  _not_  okay with him. It was appalling to see that the future doctors of the world were learning from people like this. He'd had better education when he was a child from his father than these young adults had from a 'professional.' It was too much for the pirate, and he looked to Lexi.

"How can you stand this degrading environment?" He questioned quietly, and she waved him aside.

"Shh. Gotta write this down…" She went back to her notebook.

Irritation slowly gave way to anger. Law was having none of this nonsense. He'd had enough. Standing, he started heading down to the front of the lecture hall.

Law stood, immediately catching her attention. Lexi's eyes widened when it became quite obvious where his intended destination was, and she tried scrambling out of her seat to stop him.

"Law! Don't you dare." She whispered harshly. Her notes and books weighed her down, and she couldn't rise from the seat.

He only smirked, continuing to head towards the front. She watched in morbid fascination as he got closer and closer to the front. People began to notice as he walked down the aisle. Their heads turned towards the pirate, and she could feel their curiosity and confusion as he stood on the platform.

 _'_ _Oh my God, why?'_  She asked herself, praying that whatever he was about to to wouldn't get her kicked out of school…

"…likewise the flagellum has the sole purpose of moving the cell, which is often confused with the villi."

She heard people mutter as he went up to the professor and spoke a few quiet words. Professor Hauser looked confused, then angry, then outraged, and he was about to retort to the pirate, but Law turned to the students gathered there.

"It has come to my attention that many of you in this class have difficulty understanding the material due to the inept ability of your instructor." He said, catching the attention of everyone in the room. It was deadly silent, save for a few gasps or whispers of 'Did he really just say that?'

Law, satisfied that he'd garnered full attention, smirked widely, strutting slowly across the platform. Behind him, Professor Hauser only stared in bewilderment.

"You." Law pointed to a girl in the front row, and she looked around in fear.

"Uh…me?" She pointed to herself, and he nodded. Her apparent mortification of being singled out was amusing to him.

"Tell me exactly what he just explained to you." She paused for a moment before looking down at her notebook. Law narrowed his eyes, growling. "Without looking at what you wrote."

She gulped, looking around for any sort of help. There wasn't any.

"Um…" She floundered, biting her lip. "Something about flagellum."

"And what do they do?" He questioned. With a sigh she shook her head.

"I don't know honestly."

He nodded, expecting this answer. Turning to the professor, he held his hands behind his back. "It appalls me just how much of a failure you are as an instructor to your future medical leaders. If they can't even repeat information you've just given them, their failure is most assuredly your fault. Perhaps you should go back to being the student yourself."

Professor Hauser's face turned red, before he seemed to compose himself and walk towards Law with a purpose.

"Now, listen here-" Was all he managed to get out before Law gripped his arm and twisted it behind his back, effectively stop whatever sort of scuffle he'd intended of starting.

There were several gasps throughout the hall, and even a few laughs. Law then proceeded to lead a cursing Professor Hauser to the small storage closet on the edge of the room. Throwing it open, he shoved the man inside and closed it, locking it deftly. Inside, he banged against the door.

"How dare you! I'll have you reported and expelled for this insolence!" Law ignored the man, walking up to the platform once more.

"I shall take on the responsibility of teaching your class today. Now, if one of you would please inform me as to which chapter you're currently studying."

There was long silence, before the whole hall erupted into a thundering applause, student whooping and whistling their approval and amusement at Law's actions. Looking thoroughly confused, he glanced up at Lexi who was trying her best to shrink as far into the seat as possible.


	13. First Impressions

"I  _cannot_  believe you did that." Lexi growled at the pirate, dragging him by his sleeve out the door of the lecture hall. Behind them, students were calling out in approval to Law. He smirked, trying to turn to look back at the others, but Lexi pulled harder at his arm. He allowed himself to be guided towards the centre of campus, though she suspected that if he'd been really intent to, he could simply dislodge her grip from his hoodie.

"I don't understand what you could be mad at. I taught your class quite well, didn't I?" He boasted, to which Lexi pouted. Silently, she simply kept walking.

He was right. His class had been the most intriguing and the most easy to remember that she'd ever had in the medical anatomy category. If Law hadn't been a pirate Captain from another world who most likely had a criminal record and was not someone who she shouldn't be associating with, she'd have recommended he be a teacher.

The whole class had been engaged; laughing, smiling, asking questions-albeit, it took a while for them to start raising hands and shouting out their questions before too long-and altogether learning. Law made it a point of repeating information several times for emphasis, then turning right around and quizzing the students to be sure they understood. It was the ideal teaching technique, an engaging setting, with a rather unique instructor.

Now, praying wholeheartedly that no one would say anything about the impromptu substitute, Lexi dragged the pirate towards the union building, glancing around for an administrator coming to expel her from the college.

"What is your hurry, Lexi-ya?" He asked, and she turned around, satisfied that no one was coming for them.

"Are you serious? I asked you not to do one thing.  _One thing._  And the first thing you do is turn around and make a scene! I could get kicked out for what you did!" She ignored the curious glances of those walking by.

"I would think they'd thank you for bringing me along. I was rather effective at instructing your fellow students." He crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes down at the brunette. She shook her head, gesturing angrily.

"Why in the hell would they thank me for bringing someone along who stuffed one of their staff into a  _broom closet?_ " She sighed, walking inside of the union building, hearing Law follow behind her.

"It's your fault for bringing me along, then." He said, and she almost didn't resist the urge to punch him. She figured he'd stop her before she was able to anyways.

"Just don't do anything else. Don't talk to anyone. Don't touch anything. Just… _don't._ " She gritted her teeth, shouldering her bag once more before finding a table with two chairs. Setting her stuff down, she sat and pulled out her laptop, all the rage of a thunderstorm about her. Law sat opposite, glancing around the building with interest.

"What is this place?" He asked, seeing the stairs doing up to the floor above. On both ends of the wide, high-ceilinged hallway were cafe-type stores. One looked like a store, with various food items lining the shelves. The other looked like a small restaurant.

"It's the union building. Like a general meeting place. People study and eat here." She distractedly input her password, navigating the home screen and documents she already had popped up. She still had an english essay to finish before the next day.

"What is that?" Law asked, inspecting her laptop curiously. She glanced up, still mad at him, and pulled the electronic towards her, out of his reach.

"It's a laptop. I'm not even gonna begin to explain what a computer or internet is right now. That's a long explanation for another time. All I can really say right now is that it allows me to access any sort of information in the world."

He narrowed his eyes, looking at the strange device in a new light. "Such a device would be much sought after in my world. How did you come to have it?" He tried to reach for it but she pulled it closer again, raising an eyebrow.

"I bought it. Almost everyone has one." She gestured around them, and Law saw dozens of others with similarly looking devices, eyes focused on whatever it was they were watching on the front.

"And these things are just sold at any regular market?" He leaned back in his chair, disappointed that he couldn't get his hands on it right at that moment. In fact, he'd been letting Lexi control what he did since they'd arrived. Perhaps once they returned to her home he would start throwing his weight around, now that he'd come to terms with the way her world worked.

"Yup. But we don't call them markets. They're just stores. Markets usually sell produce." She explained, eyes trained on the 'laptop.'

"Fascinating." He mumbled, and that seemed the end of the conversation.

* * *

After another hour or so, Shachi and Penguin were thoroughly bored of the tv. They'd flipped through numerous shows, not seeing anything that made any sort of sense or anything remotely entertaining for them. Sighing heavily, they sunk deeper into the cushions.

"Now what?" Penguin asked, glancing around the room for anything they could occupy themselves with.

Bepo had woken up by that time, and he stretched out his arms. Settling again, he also glanced around…and spotted the stairs to the basement.

"I wonder what's down there?" Bepo said, pointing towards the stairs. Both engineers looked where he was pointing, their curiosities suddenly shifting into overdrive.

"Bepo, don't you remember what Lexi-chan said?" The bear shook his head. Shachi poked the first mate's head with a finger.

"Baka, she said, 'You are not allowed in the basement at all. Don't even think about going down there.' Lexi-chan would be mad."

"But…what else are we supposed to do? We already watched tv." Penguin argued, rubbing his face with his hands.

"Yeah, we're pirates. We do what we want." Bepo added, standing to go over to the stairs. Shachi shifted from foot to foot, nervous about the implications of disobeying their host.

"I don't know guys. Lexi-chan can be pretty scary…"

"Come on, Shachi. You gotta man up. This is the defining line between being a boy," Penguin puffed out his chest, "and a man. So, what's it gonna be?"

Once his manhood came into question, the decision basically made itself. No one would be calling him anything less than a man, Shachi thought, and so the three headed towards the stairs that lead to the basement.

The door wasn't locked, surprisingly. It was several degrees cooler than in the living room, and a shiver went down their spines at the cold air.

The first room they saw wasn't really a room at all. In fact, the entire basement seemed to be just the skeleton of rooms. The walls weren't finished, only wooden frames for support, and the floors were a cracking cement. Lightbulbs with strings dangling down were the only source of light, and the three looked around at the illuminated mess.

"Woah." Penguin said. Woah was right. The basement looked like a giant storage area; boxes were stacked at the corners, sometimes three or four high, there were large bags of different sorts scattered about the floor, newspapers everywhere, and at the far wall sat a large gun display.

They spread out, curiosities leading them their own separate ways. Bepo went to the gun case, wiping away the layer of dust that covered the glass. Inside, there were two or three guns, though what kinds were hard to distinguish. Weapons in Lexi's world were foreign to the bear.

Shachi fingered through the various piles of newspapers stacked on the floor. They all seemed to be dated from around the 1940's and 50's. The only obvious thing he could tell was that there had been a war, which matched up with Lexi's story.

Penguin had gone over the one of the boxes, opening the cardboard flaps in hesitation. He didn't want a next of spiders or rodents jumping out into his face. Nothing sprung him, and he peered inside.

"I think we've hit the motherload." He said, earning the attention of his nakama. They wandered over to him as he held up a magazine with several women on the front cover.

"What's that?" Shachi asked, and Penguin held it out.

"This, my friend, is exactly what we needed."

* * *

"Lexi! Don't pretend you can't hear me!" Brittany's voice floating across the courtyard where Law and her had been eating. She stopped chewing her sandwich, frozen with that feeling that a disaster was imminent. Brittany's excited form was weaving through the crowd of people that floated through the large spacious area in the middle of campus.

Lexi sighed. She'd been able to avoid her friend through medical anatomy, but now it seemed luck was not on her side. When asked, Lexi had pointed out the men's bathroom, in which the pirate was still absent. He'd been gone for several minutes, and she assumed he'd be back at any time. Hopefully, he'd stay out of sight for a few more minutes.

The black-haired beauty readjusted her bag on her shoulder, sauntering up to Lexi with that natural swagger of a confident young woman.

"Lexi, could you believe that guy in anatomy today? And oh my god, did you see his tattoos? Talk about a major turn on." She sat in the chair facing her, and Lexi swallowed the bite of her sandwich.

"Huh? O-oh yeah, that was pretty insane." She looked away nervously. Her friend didn't seem to notice.

"Anyways, the guy."

"What guy?" She asked curiously, causing Brittany to roll her eyes in exaggeration.

"You know. The. Guy. The one who had your cellphone." She stared at her intensely, loosening Lexi's resolve second by second.

"Oh, right. That one. Well, you see-"

"What is he like? How do you know him? Is he as hot as he sounds? Does he have piercings?"

"Slow down!" Lexi held up her hands, calming the storm that was her friend. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched the entrance to the bathroom, hoping beyond hope that Law would still be a few more minutes. If she could get Brittany to leave quick maybe they could avoid a meeting.

"Wait, didn't you date that guy for awhile?" She pointed to a guy walking by, recognizing him vaguely. She glanced his way, giving him no more than a dismissive wave of her hand.

"Todd. Lasted four days. Addicted to porn, pass." She leaned forwards. "Now, tell me about this guy."

A flash of bright yellow caught Lexi's attention, and she saw Law making his way over to the table. With a rising sense of panic, she sighed deeply.

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" She muttered, rubbing the bridge of her nose with one hand. Brittany frowned, not understanding. At that moment, Law approached rom behind her, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

"And who might this be, Lexi-ya?" Brittany turned in her seat, staring up at Law with wide eyes. After a moment she flipped back to Lexi, giving her a wide-eyed, shocked look. She mouthed the words 'That him?' and Lexi nodded. Turning back, she continued to stare.

"Is it considered socially acceptable to stare at someone for extended periods of time?" He asked Lexi, and she sighed, figuring that if she didn't do something Brittany would continue with this train wreck of a first meeting.

"Law, this is my friend Brittany, the one you talked to on the phone. Brittany…this is Law."

"You taught our class." She blurted out, and Law smirked.

"Indeed."

"So, you're a professor?" She asked, and he glanced to Lexi.

"Actually…" Behind Brittany's back, Lexi frantically nodded her head, trying to get him to agree. If Law started going on about how he was a pirate Captain, everyone would start asking questions that none of them had the answers to. Luckily for her, he got the message. He raised an eyebrow, deciding he would get back at her for all this. "…Yes, I am. I'm a professor."

"That's pretty hot." She said, and Lexi looked away from embarrassment, though her friend didn't have any such qualms. "Nice tats, too. Who did them?"

"A small shop in…California." He said, remembering Lexi mention the word before.

"Damn. Whoever they are did an awesome job. Do you have more?"

"Yes, though they are hidden."

"Show me sometime?" She asked lowly, a seductive smirk on her face. Clearing her throat, Lexi glanced at her watch.

"Well, looks like I gotta go to class. Law, are you coming?" She gathered up her stuff, rising from her seat and gesturing towards the hall at the top of the hill. Law grinned, looking back to Brittany.

"A pleasure meeting you, Brittany-ya." Hearing her name being uttered from his lips seemed to be the tipping point, and her cheeks showed a hint of a blush. Waving goodbye, timidly, she blew a kiss on her fingertips.

"Oh, hun. I'm sure I'll see you soon." Giving a little wink, she watched them leave in a hurry, though her eyes were trained on Law's back unwaveringly.

* * *

"Check this one out!" Shachi pointing to a page of a woman wearing some kind of military uniform, leaning suggestively over a stack of strange ammunition-looking objects. The saying,  _'Ladies, join the fight and support our brave. They'll appreciate it!'_  She winked from the page, tipping her cap to the engineers, whose nose began to trickle blood.

"I wonder why Lexi-chan had these in the basement." Then, a thought seemed to dawn over Shachi, and his eyes widened. "You don't think that…"

"What?" Penguin asked.

"Maybe Lexi-chan is…into…girls?" He whispered the end, as if she'd hear him from wherever the university was. Penguin seemed to consider the questions, then shook his head.

"Nah, no way."

"How can you be sure?"

Unbeknownst to the two engineers, but not escaping the notice of the polar bear, the door to Nana's room opened slightly. The engineers were too engrossed in the images of the ladies to notice, and Nana silently entered the living room all bleary-eyed and confused.

"Ah, this one's my favorite." Shachi said, holding up the page of a girl with a thin nightgown on, hair done up in extreme curls. Their noses began to bleed profusely, and unfortunately for them, Nana saw.

"By the gods, you're bleedin'!" At the sound of the old woman's shout, the three looking up in shock. Nana, who was very obviously not in a lucid state, rushed into the kitchen as fast as her legs would carry her, digging through the cupboard for something. She took the first aid kit and grabbed a kitchen knife from the drawer, and rushed into the living room.

"Stay calm and breathe deeply, soldier. The medical camps are more than seven or eight miles away, so we can't do much more than an improvised surgery! Hold steady now." She pinned Shachi down to the floor and began positioning the knife over his shoulder, and everyone began to panic.

"I'm fine! I don't need a surgery!" He called, struggling in vain against the surprisingly strong grandma. Penguin tried prying her arms off of him but she wouldn't budge. Angrily, she pointed to Bepo.

"Soldier! Keep his friend back and remaining calm. I can't work in these conditions." Fearing for the safety of his friend, Bepo stood and bear-hugged the grandma, forcing her to drop the knife onto the ground.

"This is insubordination, soldier! I'll have you reprimanded! A man's life is on the line!" She flailed and struggled to get out of Bepo's hold, but the bear wouldn't let go. Shachi scrambled away rom the frantic woman, clutching his nearly-amputated arm with relief.

"What are we gonna do?" Penguin asked, eyeing Nana with both fear and confusion. The intensity with which she had charged his friend was alarming, though since they'd seen her in a lucid and docile state before, they knew this wasn't like her. This wasn't normal.

"Should we lock her in her bedroom?" Bepo asked, getting a better grip on the old woman.

"We should keep an eye on her. We don't want her accidentally escaping. Can you hold her like that for a long time?" Shachi asked, and Bepo nodded.

Penguin sighed. "Now we just gotta wait till Lexi-chan and Captain get back."


	14. Is the Internet a Place?

Lexi sat onto the plush chair with a deep sigh. Her chemistry class was definitely the most boring and uneventful class of them all. There wasn't any sort of hands-on way to learn the stuff, and on more than one occasion she'd fallen asleep in the middle of class. Luckily, Law was there to ask her questions whenever she'd started to doze. Keeping him in check the whole time made it easier to stay awake. She was half afraid he'd stand up and take over another lecture anyway.

"Ah, just one more class to go…" She muttered, sinking into the cushion further. Law sat in the chair opposite, as usual, and cocked his head.

"When does it start?" She opened her eyes to look at the pirate.

"4:30. So we've got," She checked her phone for the time, "three hours to kill."

"Enough time to explain what this 'internet' is?" He asked hopefully, curiosity getting the better of him. Despite being able to understand most things he saw, there was still a vast amount that was unseen that he didn't know.

She stared for a moment, debating if she wanted to get into that whole discussion at that moment. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she leaned down and produced her laptop from her bag.

"Alright, though it might be pretty confusing. Just saying." He nodded, switching seats to one beside her so he could see what she was doing. She flipped open the top, and tapped her fingers on buttons with letters on it.

"First of all, this is the keyboard. You can type words to search through it." She typed something into a box and the picture changed. He narrowed his eyes, already slightly confused by what was happening.

"What did you just do?" She sighed.

"Wow, this is gonna be harder than I thought." Lexi pointed to the picture. "This is the screen. It shows what you're doing. Obviously. Anyways, I typed in the password and it unlocked."

"Like a padlock?" He observed the new picture, a box full of small kittens.

"Yeah, except it's virtual." He raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar term, but she shook her head. "I'll get to that later. We'll just say it exists but you can't touch it. If you don't type in the correct password it won't unlock." Hesitantly, he nodded.

"Now this is the home screen. From here you can do everything. See these little pictures with words underneath them?" She pointed to the 'Safari' icon, and he nodded. "These are called icons. They represent a program, which all have different functions. This one in particular gets you to the internet." She clicked it, and the screen changed to a white page with a bunch of words.

"The internet is a place?" He questioned, resting his head on his hand. Law watched with deep concentration, not wanting to miss a single detail of her explanation.

"Not exactly. That's really hard to explain, but let's just say that the internet is inside this program."

"I see." Satisfied he was following up to this point, she clicked on the search box. He, however, had another question.

"What is that square you keep pressing?" She glanced down where he was pointing.

"That's the mousepad. It clicks on stuff. Clicking means you are choosing it to interact with. It's like pressing a button." He nodded again.

"Now, if you click on this bar right here, you can type words in and find anything you could ever want." He looked at her pointedly.

"Anything?" She smirked.

"Yup. Anything." He turned back to the screen, staring at the box thoughtfully.

"Show me." She figured he'd say something like that, and flexed her fingers over the keys.

"Ok, well ask me something. What's something you want to know?" He narrowed his eyes, rubbing his chin in thought.

"Who is your current leader?" She nodded, typing in the box 'who is the president of the united states?' He glanced at her in confusion again, and she guessed what was on his mind.

"The president is the title of the leader of our country, which is the united states. Theres a ton of different countries, but we want the one for this one. You have to be a little specific for things like that." Then, she tapped the enter button and the screen changed.

The first thing that showed up on the page was a picture of a man. Next to his picture was the name 'President Barack Obama.'

"See? There's the answer." He hummed in deep thought before glancing at her.

"What is the largest ocean?" She typed in the question and more words showed up.

"The Pacific Ocean." Lexi said, smirking at Law's awestruck look. He reached for the computer, and Lexi hesitantly let him take it.

"Like this?" He clicked on the search bar, and she nodded. "And I can type whatever I want?"

"Yup. Knock yourself out." He cocked his head, staring at the letters like they were some different language. For all she knew, they very well could be. Did they even use the same letters in his world?

"How do I get rid of what is already there?" She pressed a button and one of the letters disappeared. He pressed it again, and another one was erased. After several more button-presses all the letters were gone. Then, he slowly pecked at the letters. Lexi almost laughed, the way he glanced between the screen and the letters. Then, he narrowed his eyes in frustration again. "How do I put spaces between the letters?

She glanced at what he'd typed, which was 'whereistheonepiece?' She smirked. It felt like she was teaching Nana how to use technology, which she'd tried several years ago but was never successful.

"Hit the space button," She pointed at the longest button, "between each word you type." He nodded, hitting the backspace to get rid of what he'd written.

Now, he retyped it out to be 'where is the one piece?' He glanced at her. "I hit this button next?" He pointed to the enter button, and she nodded.

The search didn't come up with many search results, and Lexi assumed that whatever had come up didn't exactly match with what he was expecting. His small pout of disappointment was kind of cute, but she didn't let herself dwell on that thought for very long.

Next, he searched 'sabaody archipelago' but nothing came up. Then, and her eyebrows shot up in amusement, he searched 'trafalgar law.' It was pretty common to look up yourself on the internet, but for someone who was from another world to do it was pretty amusing. She guessed human nature didn't differ from those from different worlds.

The only major thing that came up was Trafalgar Square in Great Britain, but he leaned back with a sigh. There very obviously wasn't anything about himself anywhere. Wherever he was from seemingly didn't exist in Lexi's world.

"I'm not able to get much information with this 'internet.'" He looked pretty frustrated, seeing as she had told him he could get all the information in the world. She chuckled.

"That's only because you're not asking the right questions."

"What other things can you do with internet?" He asked, shifting into a more comfortable position on the chair. She shrugged, swinging her legs over one leg of the chair and sitting sideways.

"You can search things, shop, play games, talk with people around the world, anything really. The internet is very helpful, but addicting at the same time. Lots of people can't seem to let it go sometimes."

"Hmm…" Was all he said.

A passing student saw Law's spotted hat and waved. "Hey, nice hat!" They called before continuing to walk away. Law glanced back to see who had spoken, but the person was already out the door.

"Guess you have a few fans." Lexi chuckled, and Law scowled.

"I don't find that very amusing. It could be troublesome in the future."

"Ah, quit being grumpy and just relax." She settled herself in the seat, closing her eyes. "I usually take a nap about this time, so you can be my body guard and make sure no one takes my stuff." She opened her eyes again, giving him a pointed look. "Don't leave from that spot and don't talk to anyone."

"What  _do_  I have permission to do then?" He rolled his eyes, and she shrugged again.

"Keep looking stuff up if you want. Just make sure the little battery thing in the top right corner doesn't get to 0. Otherwise it'll shut off."

She closed her eyes and sighed.

Nodding, Law took over the laptop once more and began looking up anything he could think of in regards to his world. There was nothing. No mention of any common names or phrases. It was as if his reality didn't exist. The thought was certainly daunting, but he knew that some way, somehow, he'd find a way back.

Something had taken him and his crew to this strange universe, and he was confident they would find out what, sooner or later. There was only one thing he remembered from the transport, and that was a waterfall. There'd been a waterfall in that cave, very oddly placed at that, and there'd been a waterfall as they walked out of the cave into Lexi's world. He still needed to do more research, but he'd have to go exploring for that.

Deciding that continuing to try to find information about his own world would turn up useless, he set his sights on Lexi's. After all, there was still so much to be learned and he had the perfect tool at his fingertips.

* * *

Penguin and Shachi stared at the inside of the pantry blankly. In terms of things to make for lunch, there weren't many options. At least, recognizable ones. There were plenty of things inside the pantry, that wasn't the problem. They just didn't know what half the stuff was.

"Well, there's these things." Shachi picked up a strangely shaped cylindrical metal thing from the shelf. On the front was a picture of beans. He stared at it, trying to figure out how it would open. Finally, he turned to Penguin. "Any ideas how we get this open?"

"Hmm…well, Lexi's world is pretty complex. So maybe there's a tool for it?" They glanced around the kitchen but didn't see anything that would possibly do that function. Turning it around, Shachi saw a bunch of words.

"Wait, it says 'open with can opener.' This is what it looks like." He showed the tiny illustration to his friend and they went on the hunt for such a tool. After much digging and moving things around, they found a handheld thing that looked similar to the picture. Shrugging, Penguin tried placing the thing on the can and turned. Miraculously, the top began to be cut. A few more cranks of the handle and the lid was laying on the counter beside the opened can.

"What's the next step?" Shachi glanced at the can.

"Place contents of can in pot." They dug out a pot from the cupboard, placing it on the stove. Dumping the can in, they grimaced at the strange looking food. "Place over medium heat until hot."

"Umm…how do we turn it on?" They stared at the dials in despair, unsure of how to use the appliance. They'd never been assigned to cooking duty, for safety reasons, and now weren't sure how a range worked.

"Well, I'm sure it has something to do with these knobs." Penguin scratched his head, trying to turn the dial. It wouldn't budge. Trying to push it, it went in some. Raising an eyebrow, he pushed and then turned, and a small flame appeared.

"We're geniuses, Shachi!" The two high-fived. They stared at the pot, but even after several minutes it didn't look like anything was happening.

"It's working right?" Small bubbles began to appear at the edges of the pot. Searching the cupboards, Penguin found a metal spoon and scooped out a bean or two. Taking a bite, he chewed and swallowed. Then, he held his thumbs up with a smile. "They taste great!"

"Awesome!" They turned off the stove and somehow found bowls in another cupboard. Taking their bowls to the table, they sat down.

"I'm starving!" Shachi said, and they dug into the food.

They scarfed down the beans in a matter of seconds. And it wasn't until after the bowls were completely licked clean that the chipotle sauce began to take effect.

"Umm…is your mouth starting to burn too?" Penguin asked, and Shachi sat there a moment, pondering the question.

"You know what? It kind of is." Then instantly, their mouths felt like they were on fire.

"AH HOT."

"Water! Water!" They ran to the sink, turning on the faucet and shoving their faces underneath the spray. Pushing and shoving, they fought for the steady stream of relief. Bepo, who was still holding onto a very frustrated Nana in the living room, tried peering around the corner.

"Are you guys alright?"


	15. Cooper

"Mmm…" Lexi muttered, shifting her position on the chair. Her cheek was pressed against the plush arm, but the hard edges left an uncomfortable pressure against her face. She scrunched her face up, rubbing at her eyes with a hand. Yawning, she sat up in her chair.

Upon opening her eyes, she recognized the buzzing sensation in her pocket, as well as the small jingle her alarm produced. Grabbing her phone from her pocket, she turned it off and looked around.

People were still milling around the union, some eating and some tapping away at laptop keys. Then, she remembered that a certain pirate was supposed to-

Turning, she sighed audibly at the absence of Law in the chair beside her. Thankfully, her stuff was still on the ground beside her, the laptop folded nicely and placed squarely in the middle of the small table, and it didn't look like anything had moved or been taken. Grabbing it all up, she cursed under her breath and straightened out her clothes.

"Damn him…" Frantically glancing around, there wasn't any sign of the pirate and her mood instantly darkened. Why couldn't he just listen to one thing she said? God, she'd known him less than a week and her patience with him was already running thin.

Luckily, before she could panic too much, a flash of yellow and a spotted hat could be seen in the cafeteria area further down. Huffing, she quickened her pace and headed towards Law.

* * *

There was a crowd of guys surrounding a tv. It showed a football game, and the boys watched anxiously as one of the players on the tv started running down the field, ball in hand with several members of the opposing team after him.

"Go! Go!" The guys shouted. Law, she could see, only watched the events unfold with confused amusement. She was willing to bet that he only had half an idea of what was going on.

The player made it to the end zone, and the guys all erupted in cheers.

"Yes! We're going to the playoffs, baby!" They high-fiver each other and started talking with much enthusiasm. Lexi took the opportunity to slip close and tap Law on the shoulder.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" She asked through a false smile. Law raised an eyebrow but still retained the infuriating smirk.

"Learning about your world's choice of entertainment. This, 'football,' as you call it, seems quite tame compared to what I'm used to."

Lexi rolled her eyes, pulling at his sleeve, but he held back. "You can just look it up later on my laptop. Can we go now? I've got a class in fifteen minutes."

One of the guys must have heard, because in the next instant one of them had draped an arm around Law's shoulders, grinning good-naturedly.

"Ahh, you're taking our rookie with you? But we were just showing him the Classic American Pastime." The blonde boy had a missing tooth, no doubt from a long career of childhood and young adult sports. His nose looked slightly crooked, previously broken. He was casually dressed, but obviously his clothes came from the high-end stores, the ones Lexi could only dream of shopping at. So, he was wealthy, or at least middle class. She tried not to assume things about people, but his cocky grin gave her the distinction that he was one of those that flaunted his status around.

She could smell the musk of his too-strong cologne and resisted the urge to gag. This man was certainly a presence. Just not one she wanted to be around, especially if her assumption was right. She was never one to hang out with the jocks, not because she'd had bad experiences with them before. She'd never been bullied or anything like that. Their personalities just weren't compatible. She was shy. They were loud.

A few of the others tried appealing to her, but she only raised an eyebrow.

"He's coming with me." She finalized, and they laughed off their disappointment, saying their goodbyes to Law. Though, they only called him 'rookie.'

The blonde, though, hadn't let go of him yet. He leaned in close, giving Lexi a close-up view of his white teeth. At least his breath smelled better than his perfume.

"Listen, your friend here is pretty cool to have around, being from Greece and all. I've got this party on the 31st at the Gamma Sigma frat house. A way to end the semester with a bang, ya know?" He looked rather pleased with himself for just mentioning it. He continued. "He's invited, and I suppose we could squeeze you onto the guest list."

He pulled out a piece of paper from his football letterman jacket, handing it to Lexi. It was black with white letters proclaiming, 'GAMMA SIGMA END-OF-SEMESTER KICK-OFF PARTY.' Below the dramatic title were the words, 'This flyer is your ticket into the Gamma Sigma fraternity house at the west end of the campus. Bring a friend and be ready to party!'

Stuffing it into her bag so she could forget about it, she sighed. "We'll think about it." Her monotone reply was apparently good enough for him, because he released his grasp on Law, and the pirate stepped forward. They were about to leave, but the guy stuck out his hand for her to shake.

"I'm Cooper, by the way. Number 37 on the football team." His eyes flicked down, just under her jawline, his grin widened slightly, and Lexi's eyes narrowed imperceptibly. She remembered just then that her top had a slightly lower neckline than her normal attire, a long-ago gift from Nana that she had thrown on without a thought. Still, it seemed Cooper just couldn't resist a look. It seemed her earlier assumption had been correct. Her hand shot forwards in a tighter grip than was necessary before releasing it just a little too quickly.

"Lexi." She ground out, turning on her heel without bothering to check to see if Law was following.

* * *

_*Three Hours Later*_

The Heart Pirates looked up from the card game they'd been playing at the sound of the door opening. Law walked through first, looking decidedly pleased with his adventure in Lexi's world. The brunette in question stepped in next, looking much less happy. She sighed loudly and then stopped, staring at Bepo.

"Did Nana have a hallucination again?" She asked, and the bear nodded. Sighing, she went upstairs to put her stuff away before dealing with her grandmother.

"How was the university, Captain?" Bepo asked, still holding onto Nana. She glared at the pirates. They ignored her.

"Quite informative. Though it's apparent that the education system in this world is far below that of ours. I had to take matters in my own hands for Lexi-ya's anatomy class."

The others nodded before going back to their card game, the pack of which they'd found earlier in a cabinet. Law took up a position on the couch, stretching out comfortably. Lexi returned from upstairs, going straight to Nana and crouching in front of her.

"Nana, do you know who I am?" She asked quietly, and the older woman's bleared eyes tried focusing on her.

"Soldier, get back to your post! There's an attack on the northern outpost and I need to tend to wounded!" She tried struggling against the bear, but Bepo had a firm grip.

"Of course." She let out a pent up breath, standing and heading towards the phone.

"What are you doing?" Shachi asked, watching as Lexi pressed buttons on the phone in her hand.

"Calling her psychiatrist." She responded, holding it up to her ear and walking into the kitchen. Her footsteps halted and in the next moment she was shouting her confusion.

"What the hell did you do to my kitchen!?"


	16. Get Off My Couch

"Clean this mess up right now!" Lexi shouted, glaring at the two idiots and pointing towards the kitchen. They hung their heads and skulked into the room, picking up empty tin cans and grabbing rags to wipe down the counters. The microwave hung halfway open, the inside covered in exploded ravioli sauce. Several boxes lay scattered on the ground in front of the pantry.

Eyebrow twitching, Lexi was startled out of her anger by a timid voice coming through her phone. "Hello? Lexi, is everything alright?" Dr. Pierce asked in concern.

"Oh! Yes, sorry Dr. Pierce, we just…have guests over." She laughed nervously, shifting the phone on her shoulder.

"That's quite alright. I assume this call is about Donna?" Lexi walked to the broom closet on the other side of the kitchen, grabbing the broom and mop while balancing the phone between her ear and shoulder. Thrusting the cleaning supplies into the engineers' hands, she wandered back into the living room.

"Yes, she's having another severe episode. She doesn't know who I am this time, so I was wondering what you suggest I do."

Law raised an eyebrow in interest, but she ignored the pirate. She lounged across the opposite side of the couch Law occupied, kicking her shoes onto the floor with a sigh. Feeling selfish, she moved to lay on her back, pushing against the man to make more room for her. He frowned and resisted against her.

"Are you a child?" He asked incredulously, and she only smiled.

"Is she physically violent?" The doctor asked, and Lexi looked to Bepo while covering the receiver.

"Has she been violent?" She asked quietly. From the kitchen, she heard Shachi shout in fear.

"She almost chopped my arm off with a knife!" Pursing her lips, she paused.

"Yup, perhaps more so than usual." She answered. Over the phone, Lexi could hear a pen scratching across paper, the doctor taking her usual notes.

"And how long has this episode been going on for?" Law tried once again to push at Lexi's feet, but she only pressed harder. She dug them behind his back and tried shoving him outwards.

"When did she start getting like this?" The bear paused.

"Maybe four hours?" He estimated.

"Several hours, 3 or four." Dr. Pierce sighed deeply.

"That's pretty long to be having an episode. I would strongly recommend you bring her to my office if at all possible. I've got the necessary tools here to help her back into a lucid state."

Lexi glanced at the clock. It was only 3:24. There was plenty of time to drive Nana over. The only problem was the four 'guests.' She  _really_ didn't want to have to deal with one PTSD-stricken grandmother and four potential criminals all at one time. In a confined space like her truck. That would be something close to hell.

"I'll see what I can do." Lexi sighed, saying goodbye and hanging up the phone. She let her arm go limp, falling to the side and dangling over the side of the couch. Law glared back at her.

"What?" She asked, fully aware of what his problem was, but she just wanted to push his buttons for no reason. She hadn't seen him angry at all, and that made her curious.

"I don't appreciate your attempts to push me off of your furniture." She smirked, feeling triumph when it made him glare angrier.

"Well, see, that's the key word.  _My_  furniture. Who says you're allowed on it anyway?" He scowled, and she stuck her tongue out childishly. She may be an adult, but she was allowed her small moments of fun, right?

"Get off of my couch." She said, closing her eyes and smiling happily, specifically to get under his skin. Eyes still closed, she felt as he stilled, then rose from the cushion quickly. Her satisfaction was short lived, however, when she felt two hands wrap around her torso and lift her up into the air.

"Hey!" She cried. Eyes and mouth flying open, she was able to see as Law threw her across his shoulder and carried her to the back door.

"I don't take orders from anyone." He growled, opening the door. Lexi balled her hands into fists, banging against his back in a futile attempt to dislodge her body from his grip.

Hey hair hung down around her. The temperature on her face was rising, she could feel it, and she was willing to bet it was turning a nice deep shade of red too. Just great. The thought of her ass sticking out in the air wasn't helping at all either.

Her line of sight was narrowed to only the back of his hoodie and the ground. But, his natural scent was something she picked up on too. That only added to the embarrassment she already felt. No way would she admit she kind of enjoyed it. Instead, she opted to shout abuse until he put her down.

"Let me go, dammit!" Her fists kept pounding but he was unaffected.

"I believe that was an order too." He chuckled darkly, opening the door and stepping down the patio steps. There was a light rain, and she could feel the cold drops pelting her back.

"I swear I'll-"

"You'll what? Shoot me?" He challenged. His interruption wasn't welcome, and she huffed in irritation.

They'd reached the grass and, none too gently, he tossed her forwards and onto the wet ground. She landed on her ass, a gasp escaping her mouth. She was stunned, noticing a bit too late that Law was already walking back to the house.

"Wait a minute!" She called, getting up and running towards him. The grass was slippery, and she almost face planted back into the dirt. Luckily she recovered but before she could catch up, he had slipped inside and locked the door. Baring her teeth, she glared at Law who smirked. Her fists banged against the glass, over and over.

"Hey! Let me in!" She shouted, but Law only walked back to the living room.

* * *

Bepo watched as Law resumed his position on the couch, glancing at the back door in concern. Loud bangs resounded against the glass for several minutes, going silent after too long. He was a pirate, that was true, he was used to doing what he pleased and whatever the Captain pleased.

But Lexi was nice to them, at least, enough to not call the authorities and have them captured. It wasn't often Bepo questioned his Captain's decisions, but he truly didn't think Lexi deserved to be thrown outside in the rain.

"Captain?" He finally spoke up, gaining the attention of the man in question. "Won't Lexi get sick if she stays out in the rain too long?"

"I suppose so." He said, seemingly unfazed by the observation. "It'll teach her that I won't be taking orders from her any longer."

Bepo nodded, though still unsure about the outcome of the discussion.

* * *

_*One Hour Later*_

Lexi sat huddled beside the back door, trying to squeeze herself into as tight a ball as possible. There wasn't much overhang from the roof, and so the rain still poured down. It had increased in intensity, and she was now completely soaked through to the bones. Her shivering provided some warmth, at least on a molecular level. It sure didn't feel like it made a difference.

She sniffed, wiping her nose on her sleeve. It was disgusting, but there weren't that many options at that point. Her head rested against the glass, the rain streaming against her face. She closed her eyes out of reflex.

What she wouldn't give to stick it to Law, though how that would be possible escaped her. The guy was basically untouchable; he had three other comrades to fight for him, he was armed with a big-ass sword, and he was already a pirate. Obviously he'd have no problem breaking the law. Huh, he certainly didn't uphold his own name…kind of ironic.

A small click caused her to jump, and the door opened just a tad. Facing the door, she saw Penguin peek through the crack. He looked terrified of something.

"Umm…Captain says you can come inside again." He gulped, flinching when she stood. Pushing the door open wider, she stomped inside. Each step dripped water onto the ground. Her face was thundery, and she passed by the living room without even a glance in the pirate's direction.

Going upstairs, she grabbed a fresh towel from the linens closet and entered the bathroom. They said you weren't supposed to shower during a thunderstorm, but damn her if she would allow herself to catch a cold because of that bastard. She wasn't feeling the brightest at that moment and a hot shower would wash away the chilled feeling in her bones and, hopefully, the burning anger towards a certain guest in her home.

* * *

After finishing up with her shower, Lexi threw her hair up in a ponytail. The thought of taking the time and effort to style and deal with her hair was too bothersome. It was then that she realized she had forgotten to bring fresh clothes into the bathroom with her. This left her with no other choice than to walk out of the bathroom in the towel.

Sighing deeply, she pressed her forehead against the wall. "You've got to be kidding me…" She muttered under her breath.

Taking a deep breath, and silently praying that no one would be in the hall, she turned the knob and pushed the door open.

No one was in the hall. Breathing a barely audible thanks, she went straight to her room to get dressed.

Lexi reemerged from her room some time later, and all the pirates eyed her warily Law only smirked when their eyes locked. She quickly looked away, too frustrated to deal with his teasing attitude.

"I have to take Nana to her psychiatrist. I'm only taking one of you with me, if at all." She stated. Immediately, Law stood.

"I will accompany you." He said, and she gave him a deadpan look.

"Just what I had hoped for." She said with bland distaste. Grabbing her purse, she snatched the keys off the peg by the front door and waited for Law to join her.

"Bepo? Could you bring Nana to the truck please?" The bear stood and carried the protesting older woman outside in the rain. They somehow managed to strap her into the back seat without breaking any bones, considering Nana's arms and legs lashed out wherever she could reach, and Lexi shut the truck door.

"Alright, let's get this over with." She sighed, taking her seat on the driver's side. Law got in the front passenger seat, and she glared at him to remind the pirate of her intense dislike of him at that very moment Just so he wouldn't forget.

Strapping into their seatbelts, Lexi started the truck and left the driveway, starting the 45 minutes journey to town.


	17. Getting Even

The steering wheel was gripped with white knuckles, a still-angry Lexi trying her best to ignore the pirate that was so blatantly staring at her from the passenger seat. Her inner thoughts were a mess of wanting to kill him and telling herself to let it go. She's was supposed to be the better person right? She sighed, feeling angry once again.

God, the man was impossible! One second he was cooperating nicely, the nice he was picking her up and throwing her outside to sit in the rain because she told him what to do. Maybe Law was used to being in charge and not taking orders from anyone, at least in his world. Maybe that was why he was acting that way…Still, it was no excuse to toss your gracious host out into the rain.

Nana had stayed silent so far, just staring out the window with a hardened look in her eyes. Every few minutes or so Lexi would look in the rearview mirror and check up on her. She didn't seem to move the entire time, besides swaying back and forth from the bounce of the truck. Lexi's eyes softened, wondering what all this felt like to her.

Her grandmother had been sick for so long, she couldn't remember a time when the old woman hadn't seen the world through tormented eyes. It must be strange, living in a world where everyone appeared to be your enemy.

Her mom and dad had warned her to be careful of Nana's 'episodes.' As a child, Lexi hadn't quite understood what that had meant. All she remembered was playing war with her in the backyard, learning how to bandage fake wounds and getting to try out crutches for the first time when she was seven.

The rumbling of her tires jerked her attention back onto the road, where she was drifting over to the edge. The rumble strips vibrated the vehicle, and she pulled them back into a straight path down the highway. The shock had sent a surge of adrenaline through her body, and everything felt on edge, tingly, and hypersensitive.

"Distracted?" Law questioned, an eyebrow raised. She shook her head, not wanting to talk to him right then. Hoping music would help her troubled mind, she slipped a CD from the holder and pushed it into the slit, pressing the play button when it had loaded.

_'_ _She packed my bags last night, pre-flight. Zero hour, nine a.m. And I'm gonna be hi-i-igh as a kite by then.'_

Lexi sighed in content, letting the piano notes and smooth singing distract her from her troubles.

A year ago, she wouldn't have imagined her life to be this stressful. Sure, college she expected, but all  _this?_  It was too much for her…why couldn't her life be normal? Like Brittany? Much as she liked her friend, she truly and honestly did envy her. Her life was perfect; money, many friends, an easy time of it in college, and no mentally ill relatives that she had to take care of full time.

 _'_ _What am I doing with my life anyways? After college…then what?'_  She thought, feeling a tinge of fear at all the unknowns. Graduating from college had been a goal for a long time. Now that it was within reach…Lexi stalled, or at least felt like that's what it was. What good was a degree gonna do her? Get her a job so she could work for the rest of her life?

 _'_ _God, just stop thinking for a second and relax. Let the music take you…'_  She let herself focus on the lyrics, making sure to watch the road carefully.

_'_ _And I think it's gonna be a long long time till touchdown brings me down again to find, I'm not the man they think I am at home, Oh no no no._

_'_ _I'm a Rocket Man…Rocket Man, burning out his fuse up here alone.'_

"This is what music sounds like in your world?" Law inquired, shattering her up-to-that-point peaceful thoughts. She gave him a glare, sighing deeply.

"There are so many different bands and genres and singers, music is so diverse here." Was all she said, hoping he'd drop the subject.

Unfortunately, Law didn't quite understand her version of 'cooling down' after being angry.

"I'll assume you're angry with me for earlier?" He asked, a cheeky smirk on his face. She didn't appreciate his useless questions, especially when he already knew the answers.

"You're an asshole, you know that?" She retorted. He only chuckled. His amusement really wasn't helping her mood any. "And my dislike of you grows stronger everyday."

"If that is meant to deter me from teasing you, I'm afraid you'll have to find a much more effective threat."

"Then there's something you should know about me, Law." She said, gaining his curiosity. She stared a him hard a moment, allowing a small grin to appear on her face. "I don't hold grudges against people. Holding onto anger like that, I don't like it. Instead, I get even. So please know that you will get what's coming to you. Eventually." She said, returning her gaze to the road with a new sense of purpose.

Maybe she was more corrupted than she thought. Threatening people wasn't something she was used to, but it seemed to be the only way to deal with the jerk face sitting next to her. Perhaps after she exacted her revenge, she wouldn't hate him so much.

' _People make mistakes, t's just this guy's mistakes don't seem to teach him anything. Or he doesn't care.'_

They continued down the highway, and they passed a green sign that said Fairview was only 13 more miles away. Great, that way she wouldn't have to deal with him besides her for too much longer.

* * *

"Please wait outside, Lexi. I know you care for your grandmother, but you know how these sessions work. Strict confidentiality." Dr. Pierce gave a sympathetic smile, closing her office door. Lexi ran her hand through her hair, taking a seat besides Law outside in the hall.

"How long will this session take?" He questioned, and she shrugged.

"It just depends on Nana really. I can't leave until she's at least a little improved." She sighed deeply, leaning her head against the wall. "Lately the episodes have lasted longer or have become more serious. I'm not sure how much longer she can take this honestly." Lexi finished quietly.

"PTSD takes a heavy toll on the affected's mind." Law agreed, thinking back to several cases he'd experienced while sailing on the Grand Line. He glanced back at the girl, seeing her staring off into space, unblinking. "You seem to have a lot on your mind."

She could tell he was fishing for information, but she didn't feel like telling him. Much. With a sigh, she recognized her desire to say at least  _something._  Explaining where the urge had come from, that was impossible.

"I feel stuck. After I get my degree, what then? Where do I go? What do I do? Work the rest of my life?" She dragged her hand across her face, feeling his eyes watching her from the side. "You know, if you guys aren't actually crazy and really are from a different world, if you guys are actually pirates," She shook her head, "then I envy you."

"And why is that?"

"You know exactly what you want. You have all the means to reach that 'One Piece,' or whatever it is. It all sounds so…fun." She concluded.

"It's not all fun and games. Death is frequent and plentiful." He raised an eyebrow, seeing a tiny smile grace her lips. This girl was…quite confusing. And intriguing. Definitely intriguing.

"I understand that. But it all sounds like a grand adventure, doesn't it?" She asked wistfully, shifting her position to face away from him, leaning her body against the wall. The discussion had ended, leaving both of them to their own thoughts.

* * *

"If we aren't seen by anyone then it should be fine!" Penguin tried to convince his friend and polar bear. "The only people close by are the ones who live next door. We'll be fine!"

"We have been cooped up in this house awhile…" Shachi admitted, rubbing the back of his next hesitantly. "But…what if Lexi-chan finds out?"

"Don't worry! She'll be gone awhile. Besides, don't you want to do a bit of exploring? To see what's out there?"

"I'd like to know what Lexi's world is like too. Watching the TV isn't very interesting anymore." Bepo supported, rising to his feet with a stretch. The engineers shrugged, deciding that a little walk couldn't hurt.

"Should we leave a note, just in case? What if they  _do_  get back before we do?"

"Alright, fine." They scribbled down a brief explanation before being ready to leave.

They wandered out the back door, forgetting to turn off the TV in the process, and walked to the back edge of the fence. Beyond the yard's perimeter, a large field lay across the landscape, with a big forest further back. At the edge of their field of vision, a large set of mountains made up the horizon.

"Come on!" Penguin said, hopping the fence and starting towards the direction of the forest. The others followed eagerly. Adventuring was part of being a pirate, after all.

* * *

Lexi had fallen asleep pretty quickly, her back still to Law, but it looked rather uncomfortable. He eyed her with interest, mind rifling through everything that had happened up to this point.

This strange world of Lexi's was so confusing. Nothing made sense to him. Well, most things. Thanks to the laptop he'd been provided previously, he'd learned many things about what he thought were essential things. There was such a vast complex of culture and society and technology, it was all mind-boggling. His world seemed to be so primitive in comparison.

"Mmm…" Lexi muttered, moving her shoulders around to get comfortable again. She leaned back, unconsciously trying to find a more restful spot, which just turned out to be Law's own shoulder.

She slid backwards, back bustling on Law's side, and watched in curiosity and slight alarm as she got comfortable before settling herself into deep slumber again. He grinned.

_'_ _Quite an intriguing specimen, indeed.'_

* * *

_*Two Hours Later*_

Lexi jerked herself awake from sleep, not really sure of why. Her eyes felt heavy and crusty. She rubbed at them, yawning deeply. Her back hurt, probably from sleeping at a strange angle. A deep chuckle caught her attention besides her.

"Finally awake?" Law asked, that smirk still in place. She looked down between them, noticing her leaned full up against him, and she jerked herself into a sitting position. Her cheeks probably going red, he chuckled as she tried to smooth out her shirt and hoodie.

"Why didn't you shove me off?" She questioned, giving him a glare. He only grinned wider.

"Why would I end something I was thoroughly enjoying?" He teased, and she glanced away.

_'_ _Jerkface…'_

The door to Dr. Pierce's office opened, and Nana entered the hallway. Lexi stood, catching the older woman's attention.

"Lexi, dear, I don't remember us coming to see Dr. Pierce. Did I have an appointment that I forgot?" She asked, glancing down at her clothes in confusion. Lexi sighed, giving her a hug.

"Yes, but don't worry. I've got things taken care of. We can go home now." Dr. Pierce glanced at the young woman, giving her a sympathetic smile before returning to her office. Taking Nana's hand, she led her down the hallway, Law following behind them.

They reached the doors to the parking lot, and Lexi saw that it was still drizzling a great deal. They ran to the truck, and before anything else, Lexi helped Nana get in the back seat.

A very mean thought struck Lexi then, and she remembered her discussion with Law from the drive here. Grinning evilly, she got in the driver's seat. Calling to Law who was walking to the passenger side to get in, she pointed to the truck bed.

"Hey, Law? Will you check to make sure there's nothing in the back that got ruined?" He raised an eyebrow but nodded and wandered around back. Lexi smirked, closing her door before locking all of the other ones.

The pirate returned to the door a moment later. "There is nothing in the back." She gave him a bright smile.

"Oh good!" She said, overly cheerful. He pulled at the handle to the truck, frowning when it wouldn't open. "Oh, did I lock that? Whoops." She shrugged dramatically.

He glared at her. "Open the door." He demanded, and she plunged the key into the ignition, the engine roared to life.

"Now why would I do that?"

"Lexi-ya, open-"

"Don't you remember what I said earlier, Law? I don't hold grudges. I just get even. This is me getting even." She waved her fingers in a cutesy little wave just to spite him. Law tried pulling the door several more times, scowling at it when it still remained locked.

Then, oddly, he held up his hand. "Room." He said.

She blinked, staring at him in confusion as he looked confused himself. He stared at his hand, clenching it tightly.

"What was that supposed to accomplish?" She asked teasingly.

"It seems my abilities have no affect in your world…" He concluded, eyes looking stormier by the second. The constant rain was starting to drench him, his clothes looking decidedly darker and his hat looking a little waterlogged.

"Hmm. Serves you right." She said, buckling her seatbelt in. "Well, if you want to ride home with us, you'll just have to get in the truck bed. Or, you could just walk home by yourself. In the rain. Which would take longer. Your choice!" She stuck out her tongue, turning on the heater to get rid of the chill from the rain.

Law stood there and glowered a few more moments, before reluctantly climbing into the back of the truck and hanging onto the sides.

"Hang on tight!" Lexi called, shoving it into drive and taking off down the road. Law slid around a little but seemed otherwise alright and not at risk of falling out.

The whole ride home, she grinned in satisfaction.


	18. Reruns and Rescues

"I blame you for this." She said to Law. Lexi deadpanned at the hastily-written note on the kitchen counter. She clenched her fist tightly, crumpling the sides of the paper in anger and exasperation. "Why can't they just stay put and wait like sensible people?" She lamented aloud.

Law shrugged, but still looked a little annoyed himself. "They have a habit of wandering off by themselves."

"Just great…" She muttered. "They could be anywhere. The countryside is pretty big so they could have wandered literally anywhere."

"Is there a way to track them?" He suggested, but she shook her head.

"The best we could really do is drive around in the truck and search, but we would be confined to only the roads. And there are too many roads to really search properly. We have no idea which way they went anyways." Lexi took off her coat and boots and lazily plopped them onto the floor. She was too tired at that moment to scale the stairs. She would pick them up later.

"Are they fine on their own?" She questioned, and he nodded.

"Usually their antics are fairly harmless, and they will most likely find their way home." Nodding, Lexi wandered over and flopped onto the couch, sighing loudly in exhaustion.

"You guys are gonna kill me one of these days." She moaned, reaching for the tv remote. Nana had gone to bed, being rather tired herself, and so Lexi could watch the shows that she liked most. Family Feud was fun sometimes, but it got really boring after awhile.

She flipped through channels until she landed on a rerun of Bones. Tossing the remote back onto the table, she settled into the cushions.

"What is this?" Law asked with interest. Lexi gave him a small glance before turning her attention back to the screen.

"It's a show about solving murders. You know, like a romantic, mystery drama?" He seemed confused. "You don't have dramas in your world do you?"

"No."

"Figures." She fixed her attention on the rotting corpse on the examination table as the Jeffersonian crime-solvers figured out the victim's identity.

The two watched in silence for ten minutes of so and out of pure curiosity, Lexi glanced over at an oblivious Law, who watched the show in actual fascination. That's right, he was a doctor. He probably thought this stuff was really cool after all.

* * *

"You don't know how to get back to the house, do you?" Penguin asked his friend, who was scratching his head nervously at the large green sign beside the road. The rain came down on them steadily, but none of the pirates seemed to mind much.

"What town did Lexi-chan say she lived in?" Penguin sighed, crossing his arms.

"She never did. Face it. We're lost." The engineers sighed as they slumped over in defeat.

Bepo watched with confusion. Why were they being so nervous about finding their way home? Bepo could still smell the faint traces of the house in the direction they'd come, he was confident that he could lead them back home without trouble.

"Guys-" He tried to tell them, but something caught their attention in front of them.

"What is that?" Shachi asked, running with his friend to the strange looking building on the other side of the road. There were several cars parked in front of it, and people were walking in and out of the building.

"I wanna see!" Penguin said, but the two stopped suddenly. "Lexi-chan said before that talking polar bears weren't normal in her world. People might start to freak out if they see you, Bepo."

The bear hung his head. "I'm sorry."

"Stop being so sensitive!" Shachi cried, which only made it worse.

"I'm sorry."

"Maybe this was a bad idea to go exploring without Lexi-chan knowing…" Penguin pondered, rubbing his chin as rain gently soaked them through. Shachi sighed with a slouch, and he nodded.

"It is getting kind late, and," The engineer's stomach grumbled loudly, "I'm getting really hungry…"

"Yeah, me too." Bepo said, sniffing the air for the direction of the house. Unfortunately, the constant rain had washed away most of the scents in the air, including Lexi's house, and Bepo was no longer confident in finding his way back so easily. They'd spent too much time being soaked in the rain.

"Well, how do we find our way back?" Shachi asked, scratching his chin. Penguin held up a finger, his mouth forming a small 'O.'

"What if we call Lexi-chan on her phone? She said you can talk to people if you have their right number code, right? So all we gotta do is figure it out!"

"Awesome, but don't you need a phone to call her with too?"

"Hmm…you're right. But I bet you we can ask someone else to use theirs. I bet you that building has one. Or maybe someone inside."

"Bepo, you wait here and when Lexi-chan comes to pick us up, we'll come get you." The bear nodded and settled under a tree nearby, meanwhile, the two engineers walked over to the building across the way.

* * *

"They've been gone awhile." Lexi wondered aloud, finishing up the third episode of Bones in a row. Law was rather interested, and had asked Lexi several questions of her world's advanced medical techniques and procedures. She hadn't been able to answer all of them by heart, which served as a good review for her anatomy class, but what she didn't know, she could look up on her phone. She silently thanked Google for being there always.

"I'm sure they'll find their way back." Law said, and his sentence was punctuated by Lexi's phone vibrating in her hand. She jumped, not expecting her phone to be going off, and looked at the caller ID.

It showed an unrecognized number, as well as a small town a few miles away. Frowning, she swiped the screen and held up the phone to her ear.

"Hello?"

"This is Lexi-chan, right? Hello? Can you hear me? How does this thing work again?" She could hear the two idiots bickering on the other end of the line.

"Shachi? Penguin? Where in the hell are you guys? You've been gone for hours!" She stood, and at the mention of his crew mate's names, Law diverted his attention back onto the brunette.

"We're at a, what is it called again, oh yeah! A gas station! The one in…Harrisville! The guy in the building let us use a phone, and he said we could look up your phone in the phonebook or something, so we looked up your name and-"

She shook her head, trying to keep up with his explanation. "Yes, I know how a phonebook works, Shachi. You're at the gas station in Harrisville? The one on the highway? And where is Bepo? No one say him, did they?"

"Bepo's fine! He's gonna wait for you to get here and then we'll go and get him. Is this gas station on the highway?" She heard them ask. "Yeah, the guy says we're five minutes south of the main street on the main highway."

"Alright, stay there, I'll come get you." At Law's bland look she rolled her eyes. " _We'll_  come get you. Just stay put and  _don't. Touch. Anything."_  She warned, hanging up the phone.

"Your idiot crew mates have wandered to a small town a couple miles away. Law sighed and stood as well.

"I suppose we'd better go get them then." He surmised, placing his spotted hat on his head after checking to make sure it was dry.

"Let's go. And you can even sit inside the truck this time." She said with a smile. He raised a brow and said nothing.

* * *

Lexi and Law pushed through the door to the gas station, and instantly spotted the two sitting at a table in the corner. They were playing cards. Law went to his mates but Lexi first stopped at the cashier's counter.

The man in charge of the register looked rather annoyed, eyeing the two cautiously every time they shouted or made strange noises, and she was sure he had good reason to. She couldn't even imagine what they'd been like before finding a way to get her phone number.

"Thanks, and I'm so sorry for all the trouble. I'll try to keep them out of the way for awhile." The man shrugged.

"No harm done, but my suggestion? Get their heads checked." He pointed to the side of his head and spun his finger, in a sign for crazy, and she grinned a little. Moving off to the others, she sighed and placed her hands on her hips.

"And just what did you hope to accomplish with this whole outing?" She demanded. They looked a little sheepish.

"Well, you see-"

"You know how we're pirates…? And pirates go on adventures?" Shachi finished, looking up with pleading eyes. Lexi was unaffected.

"That's it. You're grounded for a few days." She concluded, crossing her arms. They looked up in frustration.

"But Lexi-chan-"

"No buts. Now get to the truck. We're going back to the house."

They slumped over and headed towards the door. Law and Lexi followed, the brunette in a much more annoyed mood than before. Law smirked as he passed by.

"Is your patience running thin?" He asked cheekily, before wandering off back to the truck. She grumbled to herself, gripping the keys tightly and trying to think happy thoughts. She was so very tired of not know what to do half the time.


	19. Fast Food and Sir Mixalot

"Where is Bepo?" Lexi asked, pulling back onto the highway to head home. They glanced between each other before answering.

"He's somewhere up ahead. I think on the left."

"Alright well just tell me when to stop." The two nodded, and she kept driving, a little slower than what the posted speed limit was just in case she had to stop suddenly. Law glanced at them from the front seat.

"Did you find any sign of ways to get back to our world?"

"No, just a bunch of number signs along the road. What do they mean anyways?" Penguin asked Lexi, who yawned as the exhaustion began to hit her.

"You mean the green ones?"

"Yeah, and the white ones that say speed limit."

"The green ones are mile markers. They tell you how far you are from a central location. The white speed limit signs are the limit to how fast you're allowed to drive on the roads." She explained, turning up the speed of her windshield wipers. The rain was coming down harder. Lexi gave a worried glance out the window. She hoped Bepo had taken shelter under something to keep dry.

"Hmm…so then, what was that gas station for?" Shachi scratched his head.

"Vehicles run on gas. If they are empty they won't go anywhere. Like trains need coal to operate. You guys have trains at least, right? And have I gone too far?"

"No, keep going." Shachi said. Law looked to Lexi

"There aren't many trains, but there are a few located around the world. Most notably on larger trade port islands." He answered.

"Hmm." She replied, finding herself curious by the strange design of their world once again. So much was the so, but it all seemed so different. To them, she was sure everything was all new and confusing. Apparently, many of the every day appliances and objects that Lexi barely gave a second thought were strange and alien to them.

"This…truck," Law said slowly, as if he was testing out the foreign word, "how does it work exactly?" He inspected the interior with a closer eye than he had previously, noticing the small buttons and dials on the front panels.

"Cars and trucks have so much to explain that I don't even think I'm gonna begin to try."

"It looks kind of complicated." Shachi agreed. Penguin gazed intently at the roof light inside the cabin.

"If you let us take some of it apart and-"

"Hell no." She interrupted. "You are not going anywhere near the engine of this thing. I don't care how skilled you might be in your world, this is my only way of getting around and if it breaks down we're basically stranded."

"Aww…" She heard them mutter, slumping a little in their seats. Lexi distracted glanced out the window again, noticing that they'd gone quite a ways away from the gas station. Checking the rearview mirror, she saw the two pirates in the back talking quietly.

"Uh, you're keeping an eye out for where you guys left Bepo, right?" She asked.

Shachi's and Penguin's faces both turned to her in surprise. Their mouths formed perfect O shapes, eyes widening.

"Oh, we forgot! He's probably somewhere back behind us." They pointed back towards the way they'd come. Lexi deadpanned.

Slamming on the brakes, the truck screeched to a halt, throwing all the passengers against their seatbelt. Lexi could hear the breaths catch in their chest, and Law grabbed onto the car door handle to brace himself. They came to a complete stop in the middle of the road, and luckily no one seemed to be driving around, because they were alone.

Law looked at back at them with a glare. "You couldn't have mentioned that before?" He growled, and they tried hiding behind their hats.

"We got distracted…" Was their lame excuse.

Huffing out a frustrated breath, she made a three point turn and started driving back the way they'd come. Jaw set firmly, she gripped the wheel in a death grip. She'd had it up to her head with these two…

"Umm…what are we gonna have for dinner?" Penguin asked timidly from the backseat when his stomach grumbled loudly. She gave a short laugh. Perhaps on any other day she wouldn't have felt pity, but her patience with this whole pirate crew had been worn so thin the threads were barely holding the rope together.

"Do you see what time it is?" She pointed to the digital clock set into the radio dash. It read 8:48. "It is  _way_  past the time for me to start cooking. Looks like no dinner for any of us." She retorted. If their faces showed shame before at her anger, they looked absolutely horrified now at the mention of no food.

"No…food?" They whimpered. Their faces fell. "But…but…"

"No buts." She concluded, keeping her eyes open for the poor bear in the forest. She just hoped he wouldn't have wandered off without them…

* * *

Twenty minutes later, and after a few times turning back around again and shooting deadly glares towards the cowering pirates in the backseat, they found Bepo. Lexi and Law helped to get him in the back of the truck without anyone seeing. A car had gone by one but Lexi just pretended to be looking under the hood while the polar bear hid behind the truck and they'd passed without so much as a glance in her direction.

Once Bepo was safely in the back of the truck, she told him to try to lay low and not be spotted, and they started driving back towards home. She felt really bad they he had to continue getting rained on but there wasn't anything she could do about that. The polar bear simply wouldn't fit in the truck at all.

They drove, windshield wipers clearing the windshield and lights lighting up the road. It was pitch dark outside, and the stars were shining above. They sat in silence, Lexi too frustrated to deal with the pirates.

"Are we really not getting any dinner?" Shachi asked rather meekly from behind her. Lexi glanced at the clock again, noting that it was now 9:05. Just then, her stomach growled loudly, causing her to blush at the captain's amused smirk. With a deep sigh, she pointed to her purse on the floor by Law's feet.

"Hand me my wallet. Please." She added, seeing his frown and knowing he was not fond of taking orders. He reached for her bag, rifling through it and pulling out her Harry Potter wallet. He didn't say anything as to the pattern, probably because he didn't know what it was even of, and gave it to her. She idly opened the zipper and glanced inside to find a slightly rumpled $20 bill and a few ones tucked away.

"I guess we have enough for cheap stuff…" She muttered, placing the wallet between her legs so she could focus on driving. From her rearview mirror, Lexi saw the faces of the two engineers light up, but she glared again. "But you two are still in trouble. Which means no adventuring for you for at least three days."

"Aww…" They looked chastened. Smirking in satisfaction, Lexi nestled herself back into her seat and headed towards the closest McDonald's.

* * *

Because Bepo would make them stand up immediately if they went through the drive through, Lexi decided to go into the place by herself and leave the pirates to watch out for anyone coming. She intentionally parked as far away from the entrance as possible and away from any nearby cars just in case. She didn't want animal control coming to take the poor bear away. He'd already had a hell of a night.

"Stay here. I'll be back in a bit. You want a fish sandwich, right Bepo?"

"Yes, please!" He responded excitedly, probably envisioning the fish within his grasp at that moment. Smiling, she left the keys in the ignition so the heat would stay on for the other occupants and closed the driver door. Heading inside the building, she crossed her fingers and hoped that even during the five minutes she'd be away from those idiots they wouldn't mess something up…

"Hey, maybe Lexi-chan would be ok with us listening to her music?" Penguin suggested, eyeing a few of the CD's she'd used earlier on a flat-looking thing attached to the roof. Law raised an eyebrow.

"Do you know how this works?" He grabbed one, inspecting the strange circular disc. It had black writing on it that read 'Queen.' It was decorated in white patterns underneath the writing.

"Yeah, you just put it into that little slit in the front, see?" Shachi pointed to a long, thin slit besides where all the button and dials are. "Put it in so that the words are facing up. That's how Lexi-chan did it the last time."

Law did so, watching as the lights on the little screen above it became two straight lines, and then in the next instant showed the number '01.' A moment later and a song began to play.

_'_ _Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality. Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see…'_

"Hmm…I've never heard this one before. Lexi-chan didn't play it for us." Penguin said, listening carefully to the lyrics.

"Lexi-ya was certainly right when she said that music in this world is varied. It sounds nothing like what we are used to." Shachi and Penguin nodded, continuing to listen to the sounds of the man singing.

_'_ _Mama, just killed a man. Put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger now he's dead. Mama, life had just begun. But now I've gone and thrown it all away…'_

"Um…what is this song supposed to mean?" Shachi frowned, not quite sure what any of it meant. They sat there, intent on the music as they waited for Lexi to reemerge from the building.

* * *

"What can I get you?" The teenage boy asked from behind the register. Lexi stared up at the menu, glancing over the available options.

"Yeah, can I get one fish sandwich, just the sandwich. Um…four double cheeseburgers from the dollar menu…uh, three crispy chicken wraps…and…one bacon mcdouble." The guy typed in all the stuff onto his little keyboard, looking back up at her afterwards.

"Will that be all?" He looked pretty bored, though that was to be expected. She was the only person other than an angry mother and her two slightly overweight children sitting in the corner of the place.

"Yes."

"That'll be $19.79." Lexi reached in her wallet and took out the twenty, giving it to him and received her change. Taking her receipt, she wandered to the side to wait for her order. Glancing at her phone, she noticed it was already 9:31. It was getting pretty late. Hopefully Nana was doing ok…

A few minutes later they called her number and she grabbed the food. With a quick thank you, she was out the door into the rain. Jogging to the driver side of the truck, she threw open the door and climbed in as quickly as possible.

"Hold this. But no eating until we get home." She warned, handing the paper bag to the two in the backseat. They salivated at the smells from within its confines. But held off enough to not tear open the back from starvation. She gave them that much, at least.

Buckling up, it was then she noticed the music playing. It was the ending verses to Bohemian Rhapsody, and she glanced at Law. "Did you guys put a CD in?" He nodded.

"Yeah, we wanted to listen to more of your music!" Shachi said. She grinned. Taking out the CD, she replaced it in the holder on the sun visor and took out another one.

"Well, then I think you'll like this one." Popping it in, she clicked over to track 09.

_'_ _Oh my God, Becky, look at her butt. It is so big. She look's like one of those rap guy's girlfriends'. But, ya know, who understands those rap guys. They only talk to her because she looks like a total prostitute, 'kay?'_

"Uh…Lexi-chan? What song is this?" Shachi asked in confusion. "There's no…music." He explained. She only smiled and shook her head.

"You'll see." Was all she said.

_'_ _I mean gross, look. She's just so…black. I like big butts and I cannot lie, you other brothers can't deny, that when a girl walks in with a itty bitty waist and a round thing in your face you get sprung!'_

She glanced to her right and laughed at the slightly horrified expression on Law's face. Turning around, she saw the look of pure delight on the boys' faces. And Lexi began singing along to the lyrics herself, bouncing up and down a little with the beat.

_'_ _Deep in the jeans she's wearin', I'm hooked and I can't stop starin' Oh, baby, I wanna get wit'cha, and take your picture. My homeboys tried to warn me but that butt you got makes me so horny. Oh, rump'o'smooth skin, you say you wanna get in my Benz-'_

"Lexi-chan, teach us the words!" Penguin begged, eyes shining along with Shachi's. Lexi just laughed at the irked expression Law was now sporting.

"What, you don't like the song?" She asked innocently. He gave a low 'hmph' and crossed his arms, looking out the window.

"It's a ridiculous song." He said, not deigning to talk about it anymore. She grinned and went back to her singing, turning onto the main road towards her house. They'd be there soon, but that left just enough time for her to finish the song. Much to her delight.

* * *

It was 9:47 by the time they got home, and Lexi pushed her way through the door, carrying the bag of food in her hand and her purse in the crook of her other arm. The others followed in behind her.

"Bepo, wait here just a second and I'll get some towels for you." Lexi said, and the soaking wet polar bear obeyed. "Here, let's get you out of your uniform and wash it, ok?"

"Ok." He mumbled, undoing the top button of the orange jumpsuit.

"Here, go ahead and start eating. Just leave the fish sandwich for Bepo." She handed the bag to Penguin, and the other three pirates went into the kitchen to unwrap their food.

Taking the discarded uniform from the now-naked polar bear, who looked a little uncomfortable not having anything covering him, Lexi went into the laundry room and retrieved a handful of large towels.

"You can dry up with these." She offered. Bepo smiled, taking them and beginning with the top of his head. She returned to the laundry room and stuffed the drenched outfit into the washer, crossing her fingers that the material would hold up in the heavy-duty machinery. She doubted they had washers like the modern ones in their world.

Adding in the fabric softener and detergent, she set it to a regular cotton load and pressed start. Sighing, she took her stuff upstairs and changed into her sweatpants and tank top.

By the time she made it downstairs, the boys had already eaten through all of their sandwiches. Thankfully, they'd left the bacon mcdouble for her, though she had originally planned to have two of the chicken wraps. Either way, her stomach rumbled again and she dug into the wrapped sandwich.

"I'm gonna go check on Nana." Lexi said after finished her food, standing and wandering across the room to the door to her grandmother's room. Knocking softly, she entered.

"Nana? You awake?" She peered into the blackness. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust, but she could make out the distinct outline of a person under the covers. The brunette crept over as silently as she could. Faintly, the sounds of Nana's soft breathing made Lexi smile in relief. At least she was resting and alright. The day had certainly been eventful, and at least one of them was getting some sleep.

Speaking of sleep, she yawned deeply, stretching her arms above her head. She really needed more rest herself. But she had class the next day and needed to do a little more studying. Leaving Nana to her rest, she slipped back out into the living room.

"I think we're gonna head to bed, Lexi-chan." Shachi said, a nodding Penguin following him up the stairs. "We'll see you tomorrow."

"Night guys." She responded, taking out her binder and books from her college bag. She'd forgotten to bring it back upstairs and so she decided to study on the couch for once. To mix things up a little.

Law and Bepo remained downstairs in the kitchen. After a few minutes, Bepo wandered over. Lexi looked up, noticing his sheepish face.

"Um…how long will it take my uniform to wash?" He asked, and she rubbed her eyes.

"It won't be washed and dried until tomorrow, Bepo. But since I'm gonna be up a little later tonight I'll make sure to switch the loads so it'll be ready for you first thing in the morning."

"Ok." He nodded gratefully, heading towards the stairs to go to bed. She watched him go, admiring his soft white fur. How she just wanted to touch it…

Law approaching caught her attention, and she looked up into the pirate's face.

"Do you need further help with your studies?" He asked. She yawned again, shaking her head.

"Nah, this stuff is a little easier to understand. Maybe for the next chapter though."

"Then I'll be turning in for the night." He said, turning away.

"Night, Law." She called softly, pulling out a yellow highlighter from her bag.

"Goodnight." She heard his soft footsteps ascending the steps and the bedroom door shutting behind him. She sighed, frowning down at her homework. How she wished she could just set it on fire or something…

 _'_ _Why does any of these even matter anyway? I'll just be doing this the rest of my life. Studying or working. Wasting away at a job I probably won't enjoy…'_  She thought sadly, propping her chin up on her hand.  _'I'd take being a pirate over doing this for fifty years any day…'_

Yawning once more, she set to work on her textbook and notebook.

* * *

_*Two Hours Later*_

It was always when he wanted the most to fall asleep that his insomnia refused to let him. The more he tried relaxing the more he felt on edge. This unfamiliar bed and surroundings probably didn't help much either. He just couldn't shake that strange feeling ever since they'd arrived.

The moment they set foot in that pool of water in front of that waterfall…everything had just gone black. There was nothing. All he remembered was Shachi and Penguin venturing further than he had wanted them to, and then…nothing.

He hoped the rest of his crew were alright, and that they hadn't given up on them. If only he'd had a den den mushi on him when they'd been transported to Lexi's world, but he had a hunch that it wouldn't have been able to reach his crew anyways.

He raised his hand to his face, seeing the outline in the darkened room. His powers hadn't worked when he'd tried using them. Perhaps…since his world didn't 'exist' in Lexi's…perhaps anything pertaining to it also was null and void? He shook his head. Everything was so confusing. Just sitting there and speculating wasn't getting him any tangible answers either.

He sighed, feeling the urge to relieve himself grow stronger. Rising from the bed, he stalked quietly to the door and to the bathroom down the hall.

After finishing his business, he crept back out, glancing at Lexi's room. To his surprise, it was cracked open an inch or two. Curiosity getting the better of him, he gently pushed it open.

It was messier than the first time he'd been inside, but Lexi was nowhere to be found. He frowned, wondering if she too suffered from insomnia and had gotten up as well. Returning to the hallway, he glanced down at the living room from the top of the stairs.

Lexi lay sideways on the couch, an outstretched hand still posed as if taking notes in her notebook. The other was tucked into her chest. Smirking, Law quietly descended the steps and approached the sleeping woman.

"Always working yourself to sleep." He muttered, crouching down besides her. Her hair, which had been put in a messy bun, was starting to fall out of the band holding it together, and several strands fell over her face. Glancing around, Law spotted a basket of blankets besides the chair and grabbed one. He unfolded it and draped it over the still form of Lexi. She shifted at the new sensation, curling up tighter in a ball.

Staring for a few more seconds, he turned and went back up the stairs. He supposed she would be fine on the couch for one night. Besides, he was beginning to feel that sleepiness that indicated his fatigue was overtaking his inability to sleep.

He fell asleep within a few minutes of his head hitting the pillow.


	20. Checking In

Law rubbed at his eyes, rolling over on the bed and glancing at the alarm clock beside him. It was already 9:52 in the morning. He blinked, surprised by how long he'd managed to stay asleep. Usually he woke up several times a night, but today was one of those lucky occurrences.

Noises on the floor caught his attention. Shachi and Penguin were sprawled out under a blanket, in nothing but their boxers, snoring rather loudly. He winced at a particularly phlegm-filled intake of air. It was a miracle those two got any sleep at all with the volume of noise they produced…Actually, it was a miracle  _anyone_  got sleep with them around.

Swinging his legs over the bed, he padded over to the mirror and ran a hand through his hair. The circles under his eyes were getting darker and more pronounced as time went on. With a sigh, he got dressed and opened the door without disturbing his crew mates.

"Hmm." He muttered, noticing that Lexi was no longer asleep on the couch. Then, it occurred to him that Lexi was probably on her way to class. One look in her room confirmed that her purse, book bag, and Lexi herself were all missing. He was willing to bet her truck would be gone as well.

Footsteps behind him caused Law to turn. Bepo meandered up to him, rubbing at his eyes. "Where'd Lexi go? I don't smell her." He sniffed the air once more just to be sure.

"Most likely to the university." He replied, descending the stairs. Bepo followed him to the kitchen, where the captain poured himself a cup of coffee, already brewed thanks to the timer on the machine.

"Do you think my uniform is done?" The bear asked, and Law shrugged.

"You could go check. She took it in there." He pointed to the laundry room, sipping at his coffee. Bepo went to see if he could find his uniform. Law could see that his fur was matted in some places, and thought that perhaps the bear should get a much-needed bath after most of the day spent in the rain.

Thankfully, the skies looked fairly clear, though Lexi had emphasized that the weather changed quickly here.

Something on the fridge caught his eye, and he walked closer. There was a piece of paper held by a magnet. It read:

_'_ _I'll be at classes basically all day. If you need anything just call me on my cell phone. Bepo's uniform is in the dryer so he can wear it now, and tell the boys that they aren't allowed outside of the house._ _No exceptions!_ _Please take care of Nana, and don't let her touch anything dangerous. I worry about her enough already. I'll call around lunch time to check up on you guys. Lexi.'_

Law put the note down, grinning at her written words. It seems she had been serious when she'd grounded his engineers. Though whether he decided to go through with her threat since she couldn't still had yet to be decided.

Bepo came back into the kitchen wearing his orange jumpsuit, looking decided happier than before. "It's a lot cleaner than before." He said.

Law nodded, downing the last of his drink. "Perhaps we'll need to give you a bath today too."

"But I don't fit in Lexi's bathroom."

"Yes, we'll have to work around that." Law said slowly, placing his empty mug in the sink. He glanced around, as if the answer would be somewhere within his line of sight, but he still drew a blank. Perhaps he'd find a way later.

The door upstairs opened again, and the two engineers rushed to the bathroom. Shachi got inside first, leaving Penguin to bang on the door helplessly.

"Come on! I've gotta go just as much as you!"

"Deal with it!" Shachi called, and Penguin looked around pleadingly. Law sighed, walking closer to the base of the stairs.

"You know there's a bathroom down on this floor, right?" Law called, and Penguin perked up as he ran down the steps two at a time. Somehow, he didn't fall flat on his face.

"Thanks, Captain!" He disappeared around the corner and the bathroom door shut.

"I swear…" Law didn't finish his thought, shaking his head in bewilderment.

* * *

* _Two Hours Later*_

Lexi wrote down the last of her English lecture notes, stuffing the notebook into her bag once she was done. Just in time too. The professor began erasing everything she'd written on the board a few moments later, and Lexi sighed in relief. At least all the information was on hand this time. The last test had been so difficult without some of the material.

Someone slapped a hand onto Lexi's right shoulder, and she jumped up with a gasp. Spinning, she locked eyes with that football player from a few days ago. Cooper was his name. She let out an exasperated sigh.

"Oh, it's you." The blonde only grinned.

"Ah, don't sound so disappointed. It hurts my pride." He placed a hand over his heart, pretending to be wounded by her words. Stuffing the rest of her things into the bag and tossing it over her shoulder, she shook her head.

"What do you want, Cooper?" Her blatant distaste of his presence seeped into her voice, but he seemed to ignore it. If he had noticed at all. Who knew when it came to those jocks?

"I wanted to ask if you and your Greek friend were still coming to the party this weekend? Having an actual Greek at a fraternity party would be rad." He said, flashing his 'winning' smile once again. She raised a brow, cocking her hip.

"I said we would think about it. I might have plans."

"Well, as long as he can come than if you're busy that's ok." Her eyes went half-lidded at the barely disguised insult, but she put on a face and gave a fake smile.

"I'll keep that in mind." Her monotone replied. She was just thankful that her shirt didn't give him any chances to look down the front again

"Sweet. I'll catch you later." He said, raising a hand in farewell and turning to head towards the doors.

"Don't sound so disappointed, it hurts my pride." She mocked under her breath in a funny voice, scoffing at the sheer ridiculousness of it all. Did guys like him actually exist? Before any other jerks could approach her, she picked up her things and left the room to head to the union building for lunch.

Along the way, she pulled out her phone and checked the screen. There weren't any missed calls from home. They hadn't tried to call. Lexi hoped she could take that as a good sign and assume that everything was going fine. She swallowed, praying that she could safely make that assumption.

No longer able to ignore her growling stomach, she turned towards the food court in the union building and got in line for the Chinese food. The smells wafted throughout the room, and she salivated at the scent of teriyaki sauce.

* * *

"I know it's cold but I can't change the temperature." Law said, spraying the stream of water onto the white bear with a sigh. The first mate huddled on the grass with a resigned shiver.

"I'm sorry." He said, dropping his head.

"No matter." Law replied, lathering the soap in his hands and rubbing it along the bear's back. The soap coated his fur with white bubbles, making it soft and smooth. Law accidentally got the water too close to his face, and Bepo shook his head to rid himself of the water.

"Hey!" Law shouted, getting splashed with water. At least he wasn't wearing his shirt so it didn't get wet, and his pants were already sprinkled with water from the spray, but the cold mist of moisture flecked onto his bare chest and it came as a shock. "Stay still, Bepo."

"Yes, Captain."

* * *

Shachi and Penguin sighed deeply, staring up at the ceiling from their places lying on the floor. The ceiling fan spun slowly, creating the barest of breezes down on the two pirates. The TV was on, the volume barely above a hearable level, but whatever it was that was on wasn't interesting in the least. What's more, Law had decided to implement Lexi's grounding, and they weren't allowed outside at all. This left little for them to do, other than lay there like lumps.

"I'm so booorrrreeed." Penguin moaned, stretching out on the carpet.

"So am I." His friend responded.

Outside, they could hear the sounds of water splashing, and the Captain talking to Bepo. The bear was getting a bath, and since he wouldn't be able to fit in the tub inside the house, they had no choice but to use the hose and some soap they'd found upstairs. The sounds of outdoor activities had them sighing in depression again. Oh, how they wished they could find something to distract them.

"Why didn't we bring some of our card decks with us?" Penguin asked no one in particular. Shachi sat up, looking around dejectedly.

"If only we had brought one of the board games from the sub too…" He mused, and then suddenly he had an idea. "Hey, do you think Lexi-chan has any games lying around?"

"Maybe. But do you think we would know how to play any of them?" Penguin sat up as well, rubbing the inactivity from his eyes.

"Only one way to find out." He stood, wandering over to the cupboard under the TV stand. Opening it, he found a bunch of rectangular boxes. Frowning, he picked one up.

"What is that?" Penguin asked, pointing to the thing in his hand.

"It says 'The Amazing Spiderman'" He scratched the back of his head, flipping it over to the other side.

"Is it a game?"

"No idea. But Lexi-chan has a lot of them." Shachi put the one in his hand to the side, picking up another from inside the cupboard. "Ferngully? What's that?" A fairy was flying through a forest on the front, but neither really understood what it was trying to say.

"How am I supposed to know? This one says 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre.' Sounds creepy. And the front doesn't look very nice either." There was a dark picture of a man shrouded in shadow on the front, and they put it to the side.

"I don't think these are games." Penguin finally said, helping his friend put away all the boxes. "Hmm…what about in the closet up front?"

They made their way to the front door, going down the hallway to the closet. Opening it, they were almost hit with Law's sword as it toppled over, but they caught it easily.

"Phew. Captain would kill us if we broke his sword." They placed it to the side so it wouldn't fall again. Turning their attention to the inside, they looked around.

There were coats hung by hooks on all sides, but a small shelf at the top held a few long boxes. They were decorated by pictures and words, and the first one they saw they grabbed.

"Hmm…Monopoly?"

"Sounds kind of fun. And look, it definitely looks like a game. I hear pieces on the inside." Shachi shook the box, and they wandered back into the living room after replacing Law's sword on the inside.

Placing the box on the ground, they opened the lid, revealing a set of small silver figures, some dice, several different types of cards, the game board, and a manual for instructions.

Suddenly, the phone in the kitchen rang, and the two looked to each other. "It's probably Lexi-chan!" Shachi said, standing to get it. Penguin followed just as quick, chasing after him.

"I wanna answer it!"

"No, I get to!"

"Says who?"

"Says me!"

"Lexi-chan likes me more!"

"No way, baka!"

They reached the phone and hit their thumbs on the answer button at the same time. "Hello?" They said in unison, angrily glaring at each other for getting in the way.

There was a pause.  _"Uh, Shachi? Penguin?"_

"Hi, Lexi-chan!" They greeted happily. "How is the university?"

_"Oh, it's fine. Anyways, I was just calling to check in. How is everything there?"_

They glanced at the back door, still hearing the water outside from the hose. "Oh, it's great! Captain is giving Bepo a bath right now-"

 _"Please tell me he's not using my bathroom for that."_  She sounded distressed. Penguin grinned.

"Don't worry, he's using a hose we found outside and some soap from upstairs."

 _"Alright, well I might need to buy more soap after that, but as long as he doesn't make a mess."_  She sighed in relief.  _"What are you guys up to?"_

"We found this box that says Monopoly on it. We were about to play it."

She laughed on the other end.  _"Monopoly? Oh boy, I hope you two are still friends by the end of it."_

"What do you mean?" Shachi asked, and they both frowned in confusion.

 _"You'll see."_  Was all she said.  _"Has Nana woken up yet? On Friday's she'll sleep in a lot, so just try to keep it down if she's still asleep."_

"No, but we'll be sure not to wake her up." Shachi promised.

"Yeah, nothing'll go wrong!" Penguin guaranteed.

_"Hmm. Sure. Anyways, I'm eating lunch now so I gotta go. And if you guys are hungry there's stuff in the fridge you can heat up in the microwave. But read the directions first just to be safe. And don't eat it all."_

"No problem, Lexi-chan!" They said in unison once again, and she sighed.

 _"Alright, call if you need anything. See ya."_  There was a beep, and they couldn't hear anything after that. They hung the phone back up and wandered back into the living room.

"Now, let's read the directions before we get started."


	21. Nana's Mission

"Almost done, Bepo." Law said, rinsing off the last of the shampoo from his fur. The bear was huddled on the grass, shaking slightly from the freezing temperatures. For being a polar bear, he wasn't that used to the cold. Law supposed spending so much time on the hot submarine had began to desensitize him.

After washing off the all the bubbles, Law wandered over to the tap and turned the knob, stopping the flow of water from the hose. It slowed to a trickle, before stopping entirely. Tossing it to the ground, Law went over to the patio where he'd placed the towels. Grabbing a few, he tossed them to Bepo.

"Here, you can get dried now."

"Thanks, Captain." Gratefully catching the offered linens, the bear began drying off his fur. Law went back to the patio and snatched his shirt from the fence, throwing over his head with a grimace. The afternoons tended to be unusually hot, while the nights got rather chilly. Law was so used to islands being one specific temperature constantly. He was so unused to the ever-changing weather of Lexi's world.

After getting as dry as he could, Bepo put on his jumpsuit again and followed Law up the stairs to the back door. Gathering the used towels, they stepped inside to the yelling of his engineers. Plus Nana.

"No, you can't just steal property from other players. That's not how it works! Have ya never played Monopoly before?" The old woman shouted, snatching some kind of card from Shachi. The man pouted, crossing his arms.

"But what if my armies were strong enough? I could just take it over."

Nana smacked him with a set of papers. Shachi recoiled, rubbing his head with a grimace.

"Ouch, what was that for?" She shook her head in disappointment.

"There ain't armies in Monopoly! You Greeks are about as un-American as they come. But that's why I'm here to teach ya, to whip you boys into shape!" She said. Law frowned in confusion, coming up behind Penguin and staring at the strange-looking board set up between them all.

"What is this?" Penguin glanced up at Law, a broad grin on his face.

"We're playing Monopoly! It's a game we found in the closet, and Nana is showing us how to play."

"You should join in, Captain!" Shachi encouraged. Law looked skeptical, but Nana grinned mischievously.

"I'll even let you be the banker in the next round." The pirate Captain wasn't all too sure what that meant, but he was always curious about things, and Lexi's grandmother always made things interesting for him, so he shrugged and sat down beside the older woman.

"Alright, you sit tight and watch for the remainder of this round. Then, we'll deal you in the next one." She turned to Penguin, gesturing towards a pair of dice. "It's your turn."

"Alright!" He said, snatching up the two pieces. Shaking them in his cupped hand, he stuck out his tongue, concentrating on the board. "Here we go!" He cried, letting the dice loose onto the board. The bounced and rattled for a moment, before landing on a pair of fours.

"Sweet." He fist pumped the air, picking up a silver piece and moving it eight spaces. "Pennsylvania Avenue. $320." He read aloud, tapping his chin in thought. He looked down at the money he had left, counting it out silently.

"I'll buy it then." He said, shoving all his bills in Nana's direction. She frowned, counting it for herself.

"You only have $180! You can't buy that!" She scowled, throwing back his money.

"But…I can just pay the rest later right?"

"No!"

"Oh. Then I guess I'll pass." She shook her head, pointing to the dice.

"You rolled doubles. You go again." He looked surprised, then picked them back up.

"Come on!" He cried, shaking them and send them flying onto the board again. One was a five, the other a one.

"Six." Shachi confirmed, leaning back on his hands as Penguin moved his silver piece.

"Park Place."

"I own that!" Shachi grinned triumphantly, holding up a dark blue colored card. "You owe me $35!"

"But, what if I don't want to pay him?" He asked Nana, and she sighed in frustration.

"Young men, always tryin' to get out of payin' for things…You gotta give him the money. That's how the game works." The pirate crossed his arms with a pout.

"Hmph. It's a stupid rule."

"Just do it." Shachi demanded, holding out his hand for the money. Begrudgingly, Penguin counted out the colored paper and handed them over. His friend snatched them away with a smirk, adding them to his quickly-growing piles.

"How long do these rounds last?" Law asked, and Nana chuckled.

"A  _long_ time. We'll be here awhile." She admitted, grabbing the dice for her turn. Law sighed. It wasn't like he had anything else to do, he supposed. He winced, feeling a slight pressure in his head. Maybe all these shenanigans were giving him a migraine.

* * *

_*Seven Hours Later*_

"Really, Lex? You're not gonna say anything? I expected more from you." Brittany mentioned as they walked out of medical anatomy together. They headed towards their cars in the parking lot, the sun already set past the horizon and the sky quickly turning from the orange of the sunset to a navy blue of the night.

Lexi stifled a yawn as she searched her bag for her keys. "There's nothing to say." Brittany stopped, hands on her hips.

"Nothing to say? You're telling me our hot as hell, foreign, one-time-only substitute teacher is  _sleeping at your house?_  And you've got  _nothing_  to talk about?" She asked incredulously. Lexi said nothing, looking away with pursed lips.

"I'm your best friend, which means you're obligated to tell me the juicy bits of your life. It's part of the best friend code." Her friend persisted, and Lexi scoffed.

"There's a best friend code?" They stopped by Brittany's shiny black car, and she opened the passenger door to put her things in.

"Of course there is. All best friends have one."

"Right." She voiced her doubt, and Brittany nudged her shoulder.

"You've gotta let me see him again. His is a face that people would kill to see again."

"You planning a murder or something?" Lexi joked, and Brittany pretended to seriously think about it.

"You know, that may just be a good idea. If it meant seeing him again." She said dreamily.

"Eww, creepy stalker alert." Lexi laughed, and Brittany joined in.

"There's nothing wrong with admiring the blessings given to him. But I mean seriously though, he's like insanely hot. Like, more than is humanly possible. You can't tell me you don't have  _any_  sort of interest in him." She pressed, and she looked away awkwardly.

His eyes flitted through her thoughts, staring her down in amusement or confusion or anger. Those gunmetal gray orbs that seemed to search out her grass green ones. Or maybe she was just imaging that part…In all honesty, she tried not to think about it too much, telling herself that she was just crazy.

And then his playful smirk at everything he found amusing, or when she made a fool of herself. His embarrassed pout in the car when she'd played the song. The few times he'd chuckled or laughed lowly under his breath. His soft mutterings late at night, teaching her anatomy as she slowly fell asleep…

She shook her head, clearing her mind of those thoughts as quickly as possible, but she couldn't stop the blush that rose to her cheeks. Her attempt to hide it from Brittany by turning her face away failed too.

"Aha! I knew it. No one could resist a face that beautiful." She claimed, smirking knowingly.

"So what?" Lexi tried to play it off as nothing, shrugging like it wasn't a big deal in the first place. "Sure, he's attractive, but he's a jerk most of the time."

A dreamy look came across her friend's face. "That's ok. I can handle the jerks." She said, and Lexi shook her head in disbelief.

"Uhuh." Chuckling, Brittany looked back at the brunette.

"Look, all I wanna know is if he's single. And if you're staking a claim. Say the word and he's yours. To be honest you could really use a boyfriend. But if there's a chance, you gotta do me a favor and put in a good word if you know what I mean." She winked, waggling her eyebrows. Lexi chuckled, shoving her friend's arm playfully.

"We'll see." She answered noncommittally. Sighing, Brittany waved and said her goodbye, and Lexi wandered further down to find her truck. She sneezed then for perhaps the twentieth time that hour, and she dreaded the familiar feeling of her getting sick. She supposed being exposed outside in the rain had caused it, no thanks to a certain 'hot as hell, foreign, one-time-only substitute teacher,' as Brittany put it. She only hoped it would go away by the next morning. All she could think about right then was getting home. Her feet hurt and she had a major headache.

* * *

"I know you're cheating! Give me that $500 back!" Lexi heard Penguin say as she opened the front door tiredly. Everyone looked up from the living room floor as she entered.

"Lexi-chan!" The two engineers called in greeting. Lexi dropped her bag beside the stairs and wandered into the living room, where Nana, Shachi, and Penguin were surrounding the Monopoly board.

"Hey." She responded, frowning in disbelief. "Have you guys been playing that since I called at lunch?"

"Yup. It's really fun!" Shachi replied, a cheery grin on his face. Penguin glared at him in frustration.

"Only cuz you're winning…" He muttered, eyeing his two property cards with hate. Shachi on the other hand had at least ten, lined up against the board like trophies. His pile of money was also noticeably larger than his friend's. Lexi raised a brow, but Nana looked up with joy.

"Lexi, dear, you look exhausted! Why don't I get you some coffee and chocolate?" She offered, but Lexi held up a hand.

"No thanks, Nana. I'm just gonna head up to bed, I think." Then, she glanced around the room, noticing the absence of two of the pirates. "Where's Law and Bepo?"

"Your friends went upstairs. The young man said something about feeling unwell. He didn't let me take a look at him though. He's a stubborn one..." Nana replied, rolling the dice for her turn and moving her piece. She didn't seem too concerned with the absence of two of them, though if it didn't concern a war or a patient, she wasn't too concerned about anything.

Sighing in exhaustion that now all seemed to weight on her at once, she ran a hand through her hair and yawned. "Alright, well as long as you don't stay up too long and put away the game when you're done, I'm gonna head to bed. And try not to be too loud."

"Goodnight, Lexi-chan!" Penguin and Shachi said. She gave a smile and wandered back upstairs, sneezing as she started up.

"Oh, dear. I hope you aren't getting sick." Nana said in worry, medic-Nana-mode instantly activating at the first sign of illness. Lexi waved it off.

"It's no big deal. It'll be gone in the morning. No need to fuss about it."

"I don't know…" Nana trailed off, staring up at her retreating granddaughter with doubt. "It sounds pretty nasty."

"Relax, I'm so ready for tomorrow!" She gave a smile as she went into her room to lay down.

* * *

"I'm so not ready for today…" Lexi groaned, staring up at her ceiling with half-lidded eyes. She sneezed again, reaching for the box of tissues she'd placed on her nightstand earlier. Sniffing, she glanced at Nana who had worry etched on her face.

"Oh, I just knew you'd catch a cold. You had all the signs last night."

"Yeah, I just hoped it'd go away during the night." Lexi said through a congested nose and sore throat. Her voice sounded strange, and Lexi moaned in pain at speaking too much. Even as a kid she always got bad symptoms from being sick with any illness, and that trend had held true into adulthood as well.

"Hmm…why don't we get you downstairs with a nice hot bowl of chicken noodle soup? Besides, it's lunchtime anyways!" Nana suggested, wandering farther into the room with a smile.

"What?" She cried out in shock, eyes diverting towards the alarm clock on her nightstand. The numbers read 12:02. How had she slept in so long? It only felt like 9:00 in the morning! "I'm missing class!" She moaned, flopping back onto the pillow.

"Come on, let's get you downstairs." Nana approached the bed and helped her stand up. Her muscles felt weak and painful, and she could have sworn she would fall at any moment. She hated feeling this defenseless, especially when she was missing something so important like class.

"I'm gonna get behind in my studies…" The brunette muttered in despair, thinking about how much more she still had to study for the anatomy test. Her grandmother grabbed a blanket from her bed and wrapped it around Lexi's shoulders to keep her warm. The young woman accepted it gratefully. Nana shook her head, tisking under her breath.

"Oh, don't you get so down about it. You'll be in tip top shape in no time!" She encouraged, starting down the first few steps of the stairs.

"Lexi-ya?" A voice said from behind them. The two stopped and looked up at an equally sick-looking Law, who glared down at them. "Since your…country," He glanced at Nana beside her, changing the word 'world' to something that wouldn't cause the old woman confusion, "could hold new and rampant bacteria that mine does not have, I worry this may be something worse than a cold."

Nana looked him over with a critical eye, shaking her head after a second.

"What you got, young man, is an old-fashioned case of the cold. It's nothing a steamin' bowl of chicken noodle soup won't fix! Come down here and I'll make you some." She said, leading Lexi down the stairs again. Law raised a brow, coughed a fit, then proceeded to go after the two women.

Lexi and Law followed Nana to the kitchen, where she sat them down at the table and told them to wait. While she wandered away to the pantry to find the cans of soup, Lexi glared at Law from her seat.

"It's your fault I'm sick. You left me outside in the rain for an hour the other day." He stared back with equal venom.

"If I recall, you forced me to ride in the back of your truck in the rain for a similar amount of time." Lexi shrugged with a small smirk. The next moment she winced, feeling her headache return in full force.

"Yeah, but you deserved that. Besides, you're a doctor right? Just cure yourself or something."

"Medicine doesn't work that way." He growled.

"Hmm. Then you aren't as skilled as you make yourself sound to be." His eyes narrowed, but before he could retort Nana came back with two thermometers in her hand, stuffing one into each of their mouths. They both about choked but quickly shifted the glass devices into a more comfortable position.

"Alright, let's see about those temperatures of yours." She pulled them out a moment later, reading both marks. She hummed. "Lexi, you've got a fever of 101. You're friend's got a 100. Seems like it's a bad case for both of you. I'm afraid you'll need some more powerful stuff to get you through easier."

"Really Nana, it's fine-" The old woman cut her off, wandering over to the medicine cabinet above the counter.

"I won't hear any more of that! Sickness won't be tolerated in this household! We've got to get you two better quick as a cricket." She said, causing both of her patients to frown in confusion. She didn't notice since her attention was on finding the medication she was looking for.

"Damn, we're out of ibuprofen. And decongestant too! Our rations are too low! Looks like I'll have to be makin' a stop to the store today." She reasoned, but Lexi sighed.

"Nana, we'll be fine without it. You don't need to do that."

She shut the cabinet door and placed a hand on her chin in thought. "Well, that just leaves morphine. I think I have some left downstairs in storage." She mumbled, and Lexi stiffened up.

"Darn, what a shame. Nana you used up the last of it on your last patient so I guess we have no other option but to go to the store and get the meds. Yup, no other options at all." She rambled nervously, smiling as genuinely as she could.

Law looked at her strangely, but she ignored him for the time being. The last thing she needed her grandmother doing was pumping the two of them full of morphine. It seemed that the old woman loved using it, offering it as an option whenever she could. While it may have been the most powerful and effective pain reliever they'd had in World War II, there was no practice at-home use for it.

"Well, if you insist." Nana eventually agreed, much to Lexi's relief. "But I'm gonna need help finding it. Those big stores are hard to navigate nowadays."

"I don't think either of us are in any shape to go…" Law admitted, coughing several times to ease the ache in his throat. Lexi silently agreed, but that only left two other candidates for the job and she wasn't too thrilled with either of them.

Just at that moment, the two idiots bounded down the stairs in excitement. "Breakfast!" They shouted, stumbling over the last step and sending both of them crashing to the floor. "What's for breakfast, Lexi-chan?" They asked from the floor.

Lexi heard the pirate beside her sigh deeply and cover his eyes with his hand in disappointment. Though her head and body ached, she managed an amused smile at his reaction.

"Boys, we ain't got time for breakfast today!" Nana hollered, pointing to the two of them at the table. "Those two are sick and need to get better fast. We've got a mission to get some pain medication from the store, and I need your assistance!"

Immediately recovering from their ungraceful stumble down the stairs, they stood to their feet and raised their hands in a salute. It seemed Nana's authoritative tone of voice had made them spring into action.

"Yes, Ma'am!" They cried in unison, looking determined to help in any way possible. Nana retrieved her purse from her room and returned.

"Where are the keys to that old truck?" Lexi pointed towards the front hallway, surrendering to the unnecessary trip to the store that was going to happen either way at this point. Her grandmother was nothing short of stubborn...

"Sitting on the peg, Nana. Be careful, alright! It's been awhile since you've driven around." She sneezed after her sentence, and it caused her throat to burn with pain.

"I know what I'm doing, dear. Don't you fret. Now, sit tight and wait for us to get back. Lay down if you aren't feeling well. I'll make sure you get the stuff we need!" And with that, she headed out of sight with the two pirates following her, happy grins on their faces.

"This isn't going to end well…" Lexi muttered, lowering her burning head onto the cooler wood table. She sneezed right then, accidentally banging her head against the hard surface. She groaned aloud, holding onto the sides of her head in pain.

"Definitely not…" Law agreed, sighing once more as he heard the front door close, which only served to make him cough more.

They sat in equal suffering as the cold left them in pain and feeling sluggish. What was even worse, she had to be stuck with the most overbearing of the lot, their Captain. Out of all the people to be stuck being sick with, it had to be that teasing jerkface.

 _'_ _This day's going just great…'_  Lexi thought with quickly rising anxiety.


	22. Home Alone-Ish

Once Nana and the two engineers had left, Lexi stood and made her way over to the couch where she immediately plopped down and sprawled out with a groan. Deciding that sitting in the kitchen chair the whole time waiting for them to get home would be unnecessarily uncomfortable, Law followed her into the living room and took up the comfy loveseat next to the couch.

"Whhhhhyyyyy…" Lexi moaned loudly, holding onto her head against her painful headache. She sneezed again, causing her to groan out loud once more. Law glanced at her in amusement, chuckling under his breath. The act made him break into a fit of coughing once more.

"I hate being sick…" She pouted, grabbing the blanket Nana had draped over her shoulders and covering herself with it. She hid away from the pirate, hoping he would leave her alone and let her hurt in peace. If she was lucky maybe she'd fall asleep and the three would be back in no time. But, of course, he had a habit of not doing things as she wanted him to.

"Lexi-ya, there has to be something to keep ourselves occupied while they are gone." Law pried, not liking the thought of having nothing to do over an extended period of time. He hated doing nothing. It was a complete waste of his time.

"Hell if I know…" She mumbled. He frowned.

"I refuse to sit here and," Coughs racked through his body, "do nothing for hours." He said, watching as she reappeared from beneath the blanket with a scowl.

"Who am I, your nanny?" She accused.

"Essentially." He grinned, hoping to get a rise out of her. He expected her to try to hit him but she only narrowed her eyes. Mutely, she disappeared beneath the blanket once more, much to his chagrin. It was at these times that she seemed to know just how to frustrate him the most, and it was, well, frustrating how easily she seemed to do it all. Frowning once more, he crossed his arms. "Alright, I suppose I am sorry…" He mumbled.

Her head popped up over the edge. "You, apologizing? That's something I didn't expect." She laughed.

"Hmph." He grumbled, looking away.

"Fine, you convinced me. Alright, grab a coloring book or something. They're in the cabinet beneath the tv." She pointed to the tv stand and he raised an eyebrow.

"A coloring book? For children?"

"Yup. Or you could figure out how the dvd player works, which will probably take hours by the way, or you can come up with something else. There's not much to do around here honestly." Lexi concluded, massaging her temple with her thumbs in an effort to ward off her headache. Peaking beneath her lidded eyes, Lexi saw the pirate captain frowning in displeasure. Obviously he wasn't liking his available options for entertainment.

She could see the frustration in his eyes and imagine his thought process. Him? A feared pirate captain of the seas? Coloring in a child's coloring book with crayons? The nerve of Lexi for even mentioning it…

"I suppose the children's book will have to do." He grumbled angrily. Smirking a little, since she hadn't expected him to agree in the first place, Lexi got up from the couch and opened the cupboard. Grabbing the half-empty coloring pages book and the big box of crayons, she placed them both on the coffee table where they could reach. Law got up and sat down on the floor beside her as she opened the book.

"Pick a picture then." She flipped through several pages, some of which had meaningless scribbles across the entirety of the picture in various colors. Seeing his confused and slightly amused glances, she chuckled. "I babysit some of the closer neighbors sometimes so I let them color. Keeps them from getting into trouble."

Law nodded, slightly surprised that she was able to read his mind so easily. Perhaps he wasn't hiding his emotions as well as he'd thought. That would have to change. Shaking his head, he pointed to a cat wearing a pirate hat, looking through a periscope as it sailed on a small ship.

"Of course." Lexi chuckled, and Law glared in return.

"What?" She ripped out the page for him to use, placing it in front of him with the box of crayons.

"Of course you'd pick the pirate, is what I'm saying." She laughed, rifling through a few more pages before ripping one out of her own. It was a butterfly landing on a flower. They both had faces.

"Captain?" Came a quiet voice from atop the stairs. Looking up, the two sick ones saw Bepo descending the steps with a yawn. "How long did I sleep?"

"A while, Bepo. You looked exhausted." The pirate replied with a smirk. The bear almost never slept in, too concerned with Law's sleep habits to worry about getting enough sleep himself. It was good for the first mate to catch up on his rest.

"Oh, I see. What are you doing?" He asked, spotting the book and box of colored sticks on the table. Lexi smiled and held up one.

"We're coloring. Do you wanna join?" Cocking his head, he approached the table. Lowering his head to sniff the thing in her hand, he recoiled his nose at the weird smell.

"No thanks." He said, straightening up. Then, noticing that something wasn't right, he glanced around. "Where are Penguin and Shachi?"

"They went with Nana to get us medicine. They should only be a couple hours." Lexi looked back to her picture and began coloring the flower petals blue.

"Oh ok." The bear decided that he'd look for some food and wandered into the kitchen, leaving the two to their coloring.

"I bet I could make mine look better than yours." Lexi claimed, and Law raised an eyebrow. Hesitantly, he reached for a crayon and stared at his page.

He, Trafalgar Law, Supernova and member of the Worst Generation, was about to color in a children's book. If word got out his reputation would be completely obliterated in an instant.

Lexi was concentrating on shading the stem of the flower in with green, making the edges much darker in contrast to the middle. Obviously she hadn't noticed his inner turmoil at the thought of such a juvenile pastime. Glancing back at his own page, he started marking the boat with brown, trying not to think too much about what exactly he was doing.

 _'_ _At least it's something to do…'_  He thought with a sigh.

* * *

"Keep an eye out for a store called Walmart." Nana said, squinting at the road in front of her. The sun shined rather brightly and made it difficult to see. The light bounced off of the shining cars and straight into her eyes, blinding her and causing spots in the back of her lids.

"What's it called again?" Penguin asked, searching the left side of the street critically.

"Walmart!" She responded louder so they could hear. "It should be up here somewhere."

"Hmm…" There was a big building with a big lit up sign on the front. "Walgreens…is that it? Walgreens?" Shachi pointed to the right where a building with a strange blue bucket with stars on the sign stood. Nana swung her gaze over, but shook her head with a sigh.

"No, we're looking for a massive building that says Walmart on it. Can't miss it." She reassured, slowing to a stop at the red light. The two in the back shared a glance before shrugging. They weren't sure exactly what this 'Walmart' looked like but they'd keep looking.

Besides, tagging along on this adventure would allow them to see more of Lexi's world. There was still so much to learn and experience, and just by riding in the truck they saw new and exciting things.

"Nana, what're those?" Shachi asked, pointing to the lights in front of them. Nana looked back and followed the line of where he was looking.

"Those are the traffic lights, young man. They direct traffic. When they turn red, you stop. Green is go." The older woman shook her head in amazement. "Hell, you Greeks don't seem to have a lot of first world country technology, do ya?"

"Uh…yeah." Penguin agreed as he glanced to the side, remembering that the Captain had insisted they keep up the charade for Nana's sake.

"What about those?" Penguin indicated the strange looking orange things along the road.

"Those are traffic cones. They tell you where you can and can't go." The light turned green and Nana stepped on the gas a little harder than needed. They jerked forwards after the car in front of them accelerated first.

"There are so many confusing things here." Shachi held his head in his hand from the overwhelming things around the truck. "So many new things."

"You'll get used to it, don't worry." Nana reassured with a chuckled, evening out her speed as they continued.

"There it is!" Penguin finally exclaimed, jabbing his finger at the window pane. There, a huge building with the name 'Walmart' across the top in white letter sat wedged at the edge of the road and the intersection. "It's on the right."

"Hold onto your seats boys!" Nana called, veering suddenly into the right lane and turning on her blinker in one go.

"AH!" They screamed. The force of the move sent both men sharply to the left, causing Shachi to go headfirst into the window and Penguin to lose his breath.

A car behind them honked as Nana cut them off, and she turned right onto the new road before blinkering left. "Whew, almost missed the turn. Good thing you spotted that, young man!"

"Yeah, good thing…" Penguin muttered, adjusting his hat as Shachi held onto his head in pain. He'd smacked the glass pretty hard and there was sure to be a bruise when all was said and done.

Nana cruised them through the sea of cars until she found a parking spot further from the building. "We're here!" She called, taking out the keys and opening the door. The two pirates followed a little less enthusiastically. As much as they were excited to see what other things a store could hold, they weren't sure they would survive the trip.

* * *

"See? I'm the better colorer." Lexi determined, glancing between both pictures with a smirk.

"Any self-appointed judge would say that." Law pointed out, crossing his arms. In all honesty he thought he'd done a decent job illustrating the page. It was accurate and within the lines. "We need a neutral party to decide without bias."

"Fine, grumpy. Bepo! Will you come here?" She called before the Captain got the chance to retort her less-than-appealing nickname for him. Law frowned, eyes flitting to the kitchen as the bear emerged with have a leftover chicken leg in his mouth.

"What is it?" He asked. Lexi grabbed both pages and held them up.

"Which one do you think is better?"

Bepo glanced between the pages. The pirate cat was accurate, with real colors and there weren't any strokes outside of the lines. Even the water was colored in different shades of blue. Then, the other one showed a multicolored butterfly landing on a blue flower. There were a couple tiny flowers added in around the big one, and a dainty little sun drawn in the upper left side.

Mutely, he pointed to the butterfly.

"Ha! Told you." Lexi bragged, placing them back on the table with a smirk. Law glared at the offending cat, disappointed it hadn't been deemed the better drawing. He was supposed to be the best at all he did. This was unacceptable.

"I challenge you to a rematch then." The pirate said, reaching for the coloring book once more. It seemed Lexi was more than willing to comply if the smirk was anything to go by.

"Fine, but be prepared to have your ass handed to you a second time." She taunted. He smirked. She was certainly a competitive person, an aspect he was thoroughly enjoying. Much as he didn't care to admit it.

* * *

"I'll look down this aisle, you two look down that one." She pointed to the one on the left for them, holding up a piece of paper. This is what the medicine is called, it should be in a small blue bottle." She explained, giving them both a pat on the shoulder before sending them on their way. A moment later she disappeared behind the shelf.

"Uhh…" They said, walking down the aisle and looking at all the various bottles and boxes of medicine surrounding them. There was an old man staring at a box of something green and paid them no mind. Other than that, they were alone.

"There are so many different kinds." Shachi whispered, picking up a box with a blue label. Is this one it?" He showed it to his friend who frowned.

"Hmm…it's called…viagra." Penguin checked the paper, comparing the names. "Nope, not that one." They put it back where it belonged, walking further down the line and inspecting the multiple medications.

"This is gonna take forever…" Shachi moaned, and the two of them sighed deeply. They hadn't thought there'd be so much of a variety of everything. Some of the names were too complicated for them to pronounce.

"I wish Captain were here. He'd know which one. Maybe." Shachi concluded, glancing at something so foreign sounding he was convinced that his world didn't have anything like it.

Up and down the aisle they went, searching for whatever the correct medicine was. The old man had left and in his place was a young woman looking over two different bottles to compare the price or ingredients. She gave the two a strange look at their confused whispers but promptly returned to her own business.

"Advil?" Shachi asked, and Penguin shook his head after double checking. They found several medicines with blue labels and it wasn't until one almost at the end of the aisle that they found the right one.

"Here it is!" Penguin exclaimed, holding up the correct bottle. "We must have passed it ten times or something." High-fiving each other in victory, they went around the side to find the older woman.

"Nana, we found-" They stopped, glancing around in confusion. The white-haired woman was nowhere to be seen. A woman with her young daughter stood nearby and gripped her child tighter as the two men froze and stared into the distance creepily. The two in question didn't notice, too distracted by the lack of Lexi's relative to care about what was going on.

"Umm…where is she?" Shachi asked, turning his head several directions trying to find her.

"No idea." Penguin answered, arms going slack as he realized. "We lost Lexi-chan's grandmother." With a sigh, Shachi nodded.

"Yup."

* * *

"I don't know about you but I'm getting kind of bored with this." Lexi admitted, finished the last touches on a new drawing. This one displayed a playground set with a giraffe and a lion swinging on the swings. A monkey was sliding down the colored-red slide.

Law nodded, eagerly putting away the blue crayon he was using to color in the sky to a picture of a house. Much as coloring had passed the time, he wasn't enthused on continuing it for too much longer.

"Hmm…" She muttered, putting away the book and box of crayons. Rifling through the cupboard some more, she closed it with a shake of her head. "Not much else to do down here."

"What about something on your laptop?" Law suggested, remembering how entertaining the device had been before. He'd found out so much just from an hour or two of searching. At this, she brightened up.

"Oh, good idea. I've got just the thing." Her expression turned to one of mischief as she quickly went upstairs to retrieve her laptop. Law took the opportunity to stretch his back. Sitting on the floor with a hunched back wasn't doing him any favors, and his spine realigned itself with several painful pops. The ache lasted for awhile afterwards.

A few minutes later, she descended the stairs holding several pillows under her arms. He frowned, not quite sure what she was up to. Smiling brightly, and sneezing promptly, she tossed the pillows onto the ground.

"We're going to build a fort." She explained, turning once again. Curious, Law followed her into her room where she began stripping the bed of the blankets.

"A fort?" He questioned.

"Yup. What, you've never built a blanket fort before?"

He shook his head and she chucked some balled-up blankets at him, which he caught just in time to prevent them from hitting him in the face. With a laugh she grabbed a few of her own.

"That's tragic. Guess I'll have to show you how." She sang in amusement, trudging out of the room with her arms full of bedding. With both confusion and curiosity mounting, he followed her back downstairs.

They tossed the remaining materials onto the floor, then Lexi grabbed the biggest blanket they had and handed him a corner. "Grab on and pull."

Doing as he was instructed, they stretched out the blanket and draped it over the couch, dragging the loveseat beside it to cover the third side. Once that was done, they tucked the edges under the couch cushions so it would hold.

Standing back a little, Lexi inspected their work so far. "Hmm…we'll need something to weigh down the part that'll be on top of the coffee table." Glancing around, she found a basket of folded clothes that Nana had forgotten to put away.

"Ok, drag the table over there and put the blanket on top." She ordered. Law was starting to get an idea for what she was trying to do, and did as he was told. After the blanket was pulled tight, she placed the basket on top to hold it down. Luckily it was heavy enough to not budge.

The whole thing created a small little crawlspace beneath the blanket, just enough room for two people if they were laying down. But it was much more open than Law had imagined it to be.

"Are we done?" Law asked, and Lexi laughed, grabbing another blanket.

"Nowhere near!"


	23. The Walmart Adventure

"There! All finished." Lexi exclaimed proudly, gazing upon the creation before her. The blankets were stretched across the table and couch, along with the chair that they pulled closer, then there were pillows blocking the table openings, enclosing the whole thing in a small cramped space. Law raised a brow, not quite sure what she found so fantastic about it.

"Now we can watch movies on my laptop." She said, walking over to the kitchen. "And eat. Food is important."

Not quite sure how to respond, Law said nothing. Though his throat began feeling dry again and sent him into another coughing fit. He hoped whatever medicine Nana and the engineers were able to bring back would help this sickness. He hated being ill. Part of being a doctor.

"Do you like popcorn?" Lexi called from the kitchen, rummaging around in the pantry for things. "And hot chocolate?"

"Popcorn?" He asked in confusion. "I've never heard of such a thing." Law said, approaching the kitchen tiredly. This sickness was beginning to wear at his strength and energy. The brunette poked her head out from behind the door, an expression of shock marking her face.

"You've never heard of popcorn? What? That's a sin, my friend." She joked, turning away to sneeze into the crook of her elbow. She went back to the pantry, reaching up to one of the higher shelves.

"What is it?" He asked, watching as she pulled out a flattened brown bag from a box.

"Popcorn is just popped corn. Pretty self explanatory." She went to the microwave and opened the small door, placing the bag inside and closing it again. Then, she pressed a button on the panel and it purred to life. On the inside, the rotating plate slowly turned the bag around.

"Hmm…" He hummed, curious as to how such a thing existed. In his world, corn was eaten plain. Nothing special was done to it. He wondered what it would look like in the end…

"What about hot chocolate?" She prodded, snapping her fingers to get him out of his head. His eyes focused on her and frowned.

"I suppose."

She sighed at his noncommittal answer. Moving over to the fridge, she opened it and took out a dark brown bottle from the door. Law glanced at the label. It said 'Hershey's.'

"Chocolate syrup." Lexi said, noticing his ever-present look of confusion. He nodded silently, and she retrieved two mugs from the cupboard. Then frowning suddenly, she turned to Law. "Where's Bepo?"

"He went outside for some air. He doesn't like feeling cooped up inside." She nodded, continuing with her work.

A popping sound from the microwave caused Law to swing his gaze that direction. Inside the machine, the bag steadily grew larger.

"Is that normal?" He asked, and she chuckled.

"Yeah, all the corn kernels are being heated, so when the gases inside try to escape the covering, it pops open. That's what that noise is." Her grin didn't disappear as she poured some milk into each cup. "The wonders of popcorn, huh?"

"I see." He replied seriously, the sarcasm passing way over his head. Lexi sighed again, realizing that most things that would be funny in her world were still foreign and probably considered serious in theirs. Still, it would be fun to mess with them.

After stirring in the chocolate and taking out the popcorn bag from the microwave, she replaced it with the cups and set it for two minutes. While that was going, she dug out a big purple plastic bowl from the cupboard, placing it on the counter.

"This is the best part." She said, gesturing him closer. He did so, looking at the expanded bag. Steam rose from the small crack in the top. Taking hold of each side, he watched as she slowly pulled apart and the top ripped open. The steam rose faster as cooler air hit the inside, and a heavenly smell accompanied it. Unwittingly, he took a deep breath, inhaling the scent.

She must have noticed, because she laughed a little. "Smells good, right?" He nodded, eager to taste something that smelled so wonderful.

She pulled apart the other side and dumped the contents of the bag into the bowl. Law raised a brow at the white, fluffy appearance of the kernels. That was not what he'd expected. Grabbing one, Lexi popped it into her mouth with a crunch. She took one from the top and held it out. "Try it."

Taking a bite, he was amazed that it had a distinct buttery taste. Perhaps the crops in Lexi's world were modified to taste different…

"Take this and I'll meet you in the fort." She smiled, handing him the bowl of popcorn. Giving her one more glance, he stalked off to the living room where their makeshift shelter stood. He still wasn't very impressed by the outcome, but for the sake of avoiding an argument he didn't say anything.

Crouching, he crawled inside with the purple bowl, taking care not to get caught on any of the hanging sides of the blankets. He was sure that if he ruined the fort in any way he'd never hear the end of it from their host. She had looked so proud putting it all together, after all.

Stretching out his legs, he was surprised that be was barely able to fit. If he had been any taller, there'd be no room. His head only had an inch or two of clearance above him before the blanket they'd stretched across the table hit him. The laptop was already inside, resting on the floor with the screen facing him.

A moment later, he heard Lexi's footsteps approach softly on the carpet. Her shadow moved across the wall, and then she appeared at the 'doorway.' Though it didn't look much like a doorway in his opinion. She held out a mug of the hot drink, which he took carefully. The rich smell of chocolate hit his nose, and he took another whiff of it.

"I make the best hot chocolate. Nana might tell you otherwise, but don't believe her." She boasted, suddenly making a shooing gesture at him. "Scoot over."

Careful not to spill his drink, he moved over to the left enough for her to get inside. After settling herself nicely, she took a sip from the drink and set it beside her. Then, she leaned over for the laptop, placing it directly in the middle of them so they could both see.

"Alright, what should we watch?" She asked, turning to him. He frowned.

"How do you expect me to answer that exactly?" She glanced away, realizing she'd forgotten that Law knew nothing about visual entertainment in her world.

"Right…yeah, forgot you're not from around here. Anyways, there's movies or TV shows. Take your pick."

"What is a movie?" Lexi shook her head, typing in her password with a deep sigh.

"They're like really long TV shows. Anyways, I'll decide. Since you apparently know nothing about anything." Ignoring the angry glare from the pirate, she clicked a few things on the screen and came to a gray page with bolded red letters that read 'Netflix."

After another few screens, there popped up a list of pictures and words attached. Reading some of them, 'House of Cards,' 'Supernatural,' 'Sherlock,' they made no sense to him, but he did assume they were these movies or TV shows that Lexi spoke of before.

"How does the Avengers sound?" She asked, clicking on the picture with the words 'Marvel's Avengers' underneath it.

"What is an Avenger?" He asked, and she chuckled, reaching over for the popcorn.

"Shh. You'll see." She cut off, pressing her volume button several times as the opening scene began to play.

* * *

"Shit. Shit…" Shachi mumbled, walking beside Penguin as they searched aisle after aisle for the old woman. "She's got to be here somewhere, right?"

Several people nearby gave them strange or dirty looks but they ignored them, already used to such treatment as pirates back home. They picked up their pace, Penguin still holding the bottle of medication that Nana said they needed. Now, all they had to do was find Lexi's grandmother.

"It didn't take us very long to find that stuff, right? She can't have gone far…" Penguin tried reassuring himself and his friend. At least, he surely hoped she couldn't. That old woman was full of surprises.

"Umm…hey, you." Shachi stopped and pointed at a middle-aged man pushed a metal cart of some kind. He frowned as they approached.

"Yes?" He questioned.

"Have you seen an old lady, white hair, blue pants and a green shirt, anywhere? Maybe within the last few minutes or so?" The man thought for a moment before shaking his head, his eyes scanning around them just in case.

"No, sorry." He started pushing his cart away, and the two friends cursed under their breath, back to square one with the search.

"What if we split up, cover more ground?" Shachi suggested. Penguin shrugged.

"Sounds good, but how are we going to find each other again? This place is pretty big and we could be going around in circles for hours."

"Hmm…that's true. Alright, well then we'll meet right here in twenty minutes whether we've found Nana or not."

"Alright, I'll see you back here soon." They fist bumped, then turned opposite directions in search of the old woman, hoping that wherever she was, she wasn't having another one of her episodes.

* * *

"Nana?" Penguin called, searching back and forth as he walked down the main walkway. People passed him and gave curious glances, but otherwise left him be to return to their own business. The pirate cupped his hands around his mouth. "Nana?"

The aisles around him were full of clothing on either side. One section looked like garments for small children and babies, while the one opposite was for female attire. Women perused the ladies section, picking up pants and shirts and holding them against their bodies to see a relative size. He circled the clothing, trying to see if the older woman was within the racks and shelves.

While searching, he caught a glimpse of the underwear and bra aisle. Penguin let out a small gasp, stifling it quickly by stuffing his hand in his mouth and biting. Now wasn't the time to go full pervert. There would be opportunities later, or so he told himself. Anything to get away from what could possibly be the thing that got him kicked out or arrested. As Lexi would have said. Shaking his head vigorously, he forced his feet to walk another direction.

* * *

Shachi stood in front of a strange cage-looking device, cocking his head curiously. There weren't any bars, unless you counted the widely spaced strings that ran vertically along the whole thing. Inside were an assortment of plastic balls in various colors. Some were large, some were huge, and others just a little smaller.

"Nana? Are you in there?" He paused but didn't hear an answer. Maybe she was sleeping? Deciding that it would be better to check, he took out the first ball, pulling it through the ropes until it broke free. Tossing it behind him, it bounced away and he reached for the next one.

An elderly couple passed by, staring sternly at him as if he was doing something wrong. He didn't understand what they were so angry about and so he shrugged and proceeded to empty the cage of plastic play toys.

* * *

_*One Hour Later*_

Penguin found himself being escorted to the front of the store, his shoulder gripped by an intimidating security guard who glared at everything he looked at. The man had a tight hold on him, so there was no possibility of escape. Resolutely, Penguin sighed and allowed himself to be led to a room that said 'Customer Service and Security.'

"Sit down." The guard said, letting go of his arm and pointing to a set of chairs. Surprised, Penguin's eyebrows rose when he saw his friend already waiting there. He approached and sat beside him.

"Dude, what happened?" He asked, and the red head crossed his arms with a pout.

"I tried looking for Nana in some weird cage-looking things filled with plastic balls, but apparently you're not allowed to take them all out and climb to the top to see further." He glanced at Penguin. "You?"

"Well, I found this set of doors that looked important, and I went inside. There was this huge warehouse-type room and I tried moving all the boxes around to find her, but no luck. Oh, and I got caught and they brought me here." He mentioned, scratching the back of his neck.

Shachi sighed. "And we're still no closer to finding Nana…" He muttered, slumping against his seat. One glance at the front desk made it very clear that they were being watched carefully by the guards. "I doubt they'd let us go either. They look mean."

"Let go of me, you commie bastard!" A voice said, and the two pirates swung their gazes towards the entrance. There, a very irritated Nana was being led to a nearby seat by a female security guard.

"Ma'am, I'm gonna need you to calm down. Is there someone you can call?" The guard asked, assisting Nana into the chair. The older woman complied, albeit with a scowl.

"I ain't giving you any information! No way I'd give up the security of my country!" She shouted, shoving her hand away. Sighing, the guard stood and walked over to the desk where the others waited, then whispers something to them.

"Wait, we're with her!" Shachi called, getting the guards' attention. They all frowned.

"Oh really?" Doubt edged itself into one of their voices. He turned to Nana and gestured to the engineers. "Do you know these two?"

Nana turned and squinted in their direction, then clarity returned to her eyes. "Oh yes! You two are those exchange students Lexi brought home!" She glanced around suspiciously. "Boys, it looks like we're gonna need an escape plan to get out of this Nazi bunker. Did you see any exits?"

"Alright…" The female guard said, sauntering over to the two pirates. "Since you guys are from out of the country as exchange students, I can't advise you to drive. Is there someone she knows you can call and ask to pick her up?"

"Yeah, Lexi-chan! She can help us." Penguin answered. Then, he remembered something. "Oh, and we have to get this medication for her since she'd sick. How do we do that?"

The guard glanced around for a moment, looking for the answer. Then, eyes falling onto Nana once more, she sighed again. "I'll take care of any purchase you may have." She reached out for the bottle and Penguin handed it over.

The two pirates walked over to Nana. She looked up in surprise, as if only now realizing they were there.

"Nana, we need Lexi-chan's phone number so we can call her." Shachi explained. The old woman's eyes narrowed.

"Are you gonna tell her we need reinforcements and a way out of this compound?" She asked skeptically. Exchanging a glance with Penguin, they shrugged.

"Uhh, yeah, sure."

With a satisfied nod, Nana dug into her purse for her phone and handed it to the two. They pressed the front button, just like Lexi's was, and came to a screen with lots of pictures.

"Hmm…how do we find her number?" Penguin mumbled, staring down at the phone in confusion.

"Here, try this button!" Shachi pressed an icon on the screen, both of them hoping it was the right one. These phones were really confusing…

* * *

Law watched as a bunch of words moved upwards and off of the screen, a list of hundreds of names. Not quite sure what to do, since Lexi was fast asleep leaning against his shoulder, he simply waited until perhaps the thing would stop itself. At least he got the opportunity to be up close again. He knew that she got all embarrassed about things like that once she realized what was happening. He thoroughly enjoyed her flustered reactions. They were amusing. And the fact that she looked rather attractive wasn't bad either...

In all honesty, he hadn't understood most of what Lexi had tried explaining to him in regards to the movie, too engrossed in trying to keep up with half of what the technology was throughout the movie. There were too many terms and sciences he didn't know, and therefore he couldn't enjoy it much.

There was a loud buzzing noise between them, and Law looked down to see Lexi's phone vibrating. The screen was lit up with the name 'Nana' on it. A green button and a red button was below that, and it continued to buzz.

Unsure of how to respond, Law decided that he'd better wake up Lexi herself. Gently shaking her shoulder, he leaned over to whisper.

"Lexi-ya, wake up."

She mumbled a few indecipherable words before cracking one eye open. Her eyes widened when she realized that her cheek was shoved against his upper arm, and she quickly pushed herself off before he could say anything. She didn't miss the amused smirk though, and he didn't miss the faint blush forming on her cheeks. Gaze directed downwards at the phone, she straightened up and grabbed the device. Holding it up to her ear, she rubbed at her eyes to try to wake up, all the while hoping that Law would let this little incident go. "Hello?"

 _"_ _Hey, Lexi-chan!"_  Shachi basically shouted into the phone. The brunette had to hold it away from her ear so it wouldn't hurt.  _"We have a little problem…"_

"What happened?" She mumbled, still not fully awake. Yawning, she covered her mouth and awaited the bad news.

 _"_ _Well, the good news is that we found the medicine! It wasn't too hard, and didn't take too long…"_  He rambled, but Lexi was having none of it.

"Shachi, get on with it." He laughed nervously on the other end.

_"_ _Ah, right…well, Nana sort of started thinking she's in the war again and now we don't have a way of getting back."_

Closing her eyes, she leaned her head back against the couch cushion. "God dammit…" She muttered, catching the interest of Law who still sat beside her. He patiently munched on a couple popcorn pieces while she finished her call. "I don't have any way of getting there, you guys have the truck."

_"_ _Well, what are we supposed to do then?"_

Quickly thinking, Lexi sighed. "I can try asking if Brittany can pick you up. Where are you guys at?"

_"_ _Umm…Walmart, I think."_

"Well, which one? Do you know?"

_"_ _No…"_

Lexi rubbed at a quickly-forming headache, wishing that everything wasn't so complicated and messed up. Why couldn't she just have one day to relax and rest without something horrible happening?

"Ok, well are you guys at security?"

 _"_ _Yeah, and they look really scary."_  He admitted.

"Ok, ask one of them which town you're in." Barely, she could hear Shachi asking someone where they were. A moment later, she heard the phone rustle as he brought it back up to his ear.

_"_ _We're in Bakersfield."_

"Alright, well at least that's not too far away. Stay there and I'll call Brittany to see if she can help. Don't move or leave the security guard's sight. Understand?" She clarified, emphasizing her instructions so they knew exactly what to do. With them, you could never be too careful.

_"_ _Roger that."_

"Ok, I'll call you back when I hear from Brittany." She hung up the phone, slouching in her seated position.

"Problems I assume?" She didn't bother to answer, instead picking the phone back up to call her friend.

She waited a few seconds as the line rang, hoping beyond hope that she would pick up.

 _"_ _Sup, Lex?"_  She answered, and Lexi sighed in relief.

"I need to ask a favor. Are you doing anything important right now?" There were a couple voices on the other end that didn't sound like Brittany.

_"_ _Uh, kind of on a date right now, waiting on him to get back from the bathroom. But what's up?"_

"Nana went to the store with a couple of the…exchange students to get medicine. Law and I are sick and they have the truck. She had an episode at the store and now they're stuck there since the other two can't drive."

_"_ _Ah, geez. That really sucks. Where are they at?"_

"The Walmart in Bakersfield. I really don't wanna ask since you're busy, but I don't have very many options right now…" She hesitantly admitted, knowing she could always call a neighbor, even though they could be grouchy about doing them favors sometimes.

_"_ _Sure, no problem. I'll head over and pick them up, then I'll bring you back so you can get the truck?"_

"Yeah. Thanks, you're a life saver. And are you sure? You said you were on a date." Lexi hated feeling like she was a burden, or that she was being an inconvenience so she just wanted to make sure.

_"_ _Honestly? I'd give the guy maybe a 6 out of 10. I'll pass on him. You know, since you're my best friend. Sisters before misters. Chicks before dicks. You feel?"_

Despite herself, Lexi gave a chuckle. "Right, but thanks again."

_"_ _No problem babe, see you soon."_

Lexi hung up and let her phone fall the the floor. "I'm so done with today…" She muttered, covering her face with her hands. Law chuckled beside her, before going into a fit of coughing again.


	24. What The Future Holds

Penguin and Shachi lounged over the bench at the security office, dozing loudly, with Nana still agitated by her surroundings. Lexi had called them back and let them know that Brittany was on her way to get them, but it had already been awhile and there was no sign of her.

"I wonder what Brittany-chan looks like." Penguin muttered, half asleep. Shachi shrugged, but tried squirming around to find a better position to rest.

"I hope she's pretty." He agreed.

"Well, you two are in luck." A female voice proclaimed, and they snapped their eyes open from surprise.

Standing in front of them was a woman, with dark black hair and an extremely pretty face. Her clothes, of course, looked foreign to the two pirates, but they could both agree the shirt that didn't reach her belly button and the jean shorts which ended well above her knees suited her style.

The two stared in appreciation and pleasure, and Brittany laughed, playing with her hair seductively.

"It's nice to know my physique is enjoyed every once in awhile." She said coyly, and the two seemed to snap out of their speechlessness and jumped up from their seats. Nana stood as well, recognizing Lexi's friend.

"Those commies got you too, huh Brittany?" She asked, glancing back and forth for anyone that might be listening to their conversation. The black-haired beauty turned to the old woman and sighed with a small smile.

She knew full well about how bad Nana could get, and she always did her best to try to play along. Lexi had told her before that even though the psychiatrist thought playing along would only make things worse, she had just lost the energy to continue fighting with her. So, good-naturedly, Brittany pretended to look around secretly too.

"Yeah, but I've found an escape route out of here." She whispered. Nana piqued at this information, and she smiled.

"Those bastards won't know what hit 'em." She agreed.

"Follow me. And don't get lost." The last part was directed at the two pirates, emphasized by Brittany pointing specifically in their direction so they got the message. They nodded and followed behind the two women.

* * *

Lexi and Law had taken down the fort, since it was taking up much of the space in the living room. Lexi had done most of it, too distracted by Nana's episode to really complain. She just wished they didn't happen so much, or at all. They seemed to be getting more frequent and severe, and it just occurred to her now how much of a problem they could actually cause.

Now they both lay on the couches, feeling rather nauseous. The doorbell rang, the sound reaching the deepest parts of the house.

"You get it." Lexi said, her voice muffled from underneath the blanket covering her face. Law glared over at her, his head pounding against itself. The very last thing he wanted to do was get up from his comfy position on the other couch, but it seemed Lexi was as stubborn as she was sick, and so he knew he'd have no other choice. Slowly rising with a low groan, he made his way to the front door.

Unlocking it, he stepped back as Brittany shoved her way inside, completely bypassing Law and moving over to where Lexi was in the living room.

"Lex, you alright? Where are you?" She called, searching up the stairs and in the kitchen.

"Here." She called from under the blanket. Law raised a brow, but watched as Nana and his two engineers slowly made their way into the house. Nana looked pretty tired, and a little shaken up from all that had happened that day. He didn't blame her all that much. He was exhausted too.

"Get up, lazy." Brittany demanded, grabbing a corner of the blanket and pulling.

"Noooo…" Lexi moaned underneath, grabbing on as hard as her weakened state could to keep the blanket on top of her. But her friend was having none of it. Brittany sighed, yanking the thing free in one hard tug.

"Come on, you gotta take your medicine and then go get your truck with me. Let's get moving!"

"You're a sucky friend." Lexi begrudged, and Brittany only laughed.

"No, I'm your best friend, which is why you hate me so much. Now, come on lazy. Into the kitchen." She pulled on the brunette's arm until she slowly rose to her feet.

Law followed them into the kitchen, wanting to take whatever medicine it was that the others had gone to get. For all this trouble, it better be worth it.

"Alright, here's the stuff." Brittany took out the bottle and started pouring it out into the measuring cup attached to the packaging. Pouring the liquid in, she filled it to the line and handed it to Lexi.

She picked it up and tipped it back, downing the contents in one go. After it was all gone, she set the cup back on the counter and grimaced at the taste, coughing a few times from the feeling in the back of her throat.

Brittany washed the cup and repeated the process, handing it to Law this time. He eyed it warily, wondering what exactly was in this medication. He'd never heard of the name before. In his hesitation, Brittany pushed it forward again, giving him a pointed look.

"Take it or I'll make you." She threatened. Raising a brow, he finally picked up the plastic little cup and swallowed its contents, grimacing just like Lexi as the taste caught up to him.

"Good." Brittany said, washing the cup again before capping the bottle and putting it in the cupboard. "Now you can all stop being a bunch of pansies and feel better." She said brightly.

Rolling her eyes, Lexi started walking out of the kitchen. "Let me go get dressed and we'll get the truck."

"If you need assistance, let me know!" Brittany called teasingly with a grin. Lexi called back from the stairs.

"I'm not disabled, I'm just sick!"

* * *

"Alright, you three keep an eye on Nana, make sure she doesn't get worse. If she does, call me or Lex." Brittany took charge, grabbing her keys from her purse and flipping on her wide sunglasses. She opened the front door and ushered a still-groggy Lexi outside. Law wandered over to watch them leave, and she stopped halfway out the door.

"If Lex wasn't sick, I'd totally stay and flirt with you, hun. You'll be seeing me again soon." She waggled her fingers with an attempt at a mysterious smile before disappearing behind the closed door. He could faintly hear Lexi's shout of admonishment at Brittany's behavior, but their voices quickly faded away, replaced only by her vehicle starting outside. Law's eyebrows rose at her words and he only shook his head in amusement.

"Even when he's sick, he's totally attractive." Brittany mused as she drove back to the Walmart. Lexi glanced at her from the passenger seat, squirming around in the luxury style leather they were made of for a better position.

"You're not gonna give up on him, are you?"

"Nope, not until I convince him to stay in the country to marry me and we have cute little children named Susie and Tyler." She nodded resolutely, and Lexi punched her arm gently, as she couldn't muster up the strength to really hit her hard.

"You're hopeless." With a shake of her head and an unavoidable smile, she continued watching the scenery go by as Brittany drove. For once, there wasn't any rain in sight. No clouds in the sky, and the sun shining above them. It was ridiculous how quickly the weather could change on them.

"About what I said before." Brittany started, sparing her friend a glance. "About you staking a claim. I mean it. You seriously need a boyfriend and there is perfectly viable guy  _living_  with you. When are you gonna make a move?"

"Never." Lexi said.

"Now  _you're_  the hopeless one. Are you gonna just die alone then?" Lexi pretended to look shocked and hurt, placing a hand over her chest delicately.

"Of course not! My 37 cats will keep me company." Her friend laughed at that.

"So, you're going the crazy cat lady route? Whatever your heart desires, I guess." Brittany focused back on the road, giving her a minute of peace and quiet for once. Much as she knew Brittany was kidding around, her words still rang in her head. Was she gonna die alone?

Nana wouldn't last much longer. Lexi wasn't stupid. The signs were getting worse and sooner than later there would be some unfortunate accident or her heart would give out from constantly being in a mental state of war. There wasn't much hope for long term survival with Nana, and after that happened…

…then what?

Besides a single ex-boyfriend from a few years before, Lexi had no experience with dating, having to spend all her time focusing on school and helping Nana at home. She didn't regret it, but ultimately, and realistically, she'd probably be married to her job 30 years from now.

 _'_ _Is that even a life worth living?'_  She internally questioned, and then she sighed because she was only 23 and she didn't have any idea what those answers might be, so she decided to forget about it for now.


	25. Late Night Talks

It was several days after the whole Walmart fiasco, and both Lexi and Law were fully recovered from their illness. Thankfully, there wasn't any majorly strange or bothersome occurrences in the time between, what with the engineers having to take care of three sick or mentally unstable people. With Lexi's direction and instructions, they helped clean and even cook for those occupying the house. Shachi and Penguin were pretty well-behaved, a grateful Lexi found, and it really made things easier for the rest of them.

Unfortunately, missing three days of classes couldn't be helped by the good behavior of the pirates. Her assignments began to pile up, and she had to haul ass the last day to even begin to catch up.

Lexi became a recluse after that, spending the majority of her time at the university or in her room studying. The only times she'd come out were to grab something to eat or make something for the rest of them.

Law began noticing the signs of exhaustion after the third full day of doing nothing but study. Though he had to admire her determination. Law and Bepo lounged around the living room, watching some strange program on the tv. Shachi and Penguin were in the backyard helping Nana with some gardening. Lexi emerged for only the second time that day, sluggishly descending the steps with half-lidded eyes.

"Um…Lexi?" Bepo pried, seeing her disheveled appearance.

"Hmm?" She replied, too much in a daze to meet his gaze. She was only reacting to the sound of his voice.

"Are you alright?"

"Mhmm." She reached the bottom of the stairs and went into the kitchen. She disappeared from sight, and Law watched the polar bear give him a concerned glance. They could hear her open the doors of the fridge, then a second later there was a loud crash of glass being broken followed by a feminine shout of surprise.

The two pirates jumped with a start, Law swinging his head around to gather the source of the noise. Rolling his eyes, he stood and went into the kitchen after her. There he saw a dazed and startled Lexi staring at the ground, where a glass baking dish with leftovers from the day before had shattered against the floor. The pieces had scattered everywhere, and the enchiladas, as she had called them, lay in a half-frozen pile in the middle.

Law looked to Lexi for explanation but she only rubbed her eyes furiously to get the sleep out of them. "It slipped out of my hand…" She said.

Sighing, he knelt down to start cleaning up the mess, but a quiet sob made him stop. Looking up, he saw her shoulders start to shake.

"Why are you crying?" He asked in confusion. Had she hurt herself? There were no visible wounds on her body anywhere…

"I'm just so tired…I can't fail my classes, but I'm so tired…" She sobbed, sniffing and wiping at her eyes with the sleeves of her shirt.

He stared at her a moment, unsure of what to do, but it seemed the universe would decide that for him. Lexi tried to take a step towards the stairs, most likely to go back up to her room, but she faltered. Law recognized something in her gait, something in the way she moved and instinctively stepped up to catch her before she passed out and fell to the ground in the broken glass.

Lexi's head lolled foward, and her full weight fell against the pirate. If he hadn't have been there, she would have face planted straight into a pile of jagged glass. He wrapped her arm around his shoulder, picking her up by her knees and back. With a sigh, he stood and walked towards the stairs.

"Bepo, will you clean up the mess in the kitchen?" He asked, and the bear stood.

"Yes, Captain."

Satisfied that the job would be done, he ascended the steps to the top of the stairs, pushing against her door that was slightly ajar.

Stepping carefully so as not to have her head hit the doorframe, Law moved towards her bed, gently lifting her from his hold and placing her on the comforter. She didn't wake up, probably feeling the full effects of her exhaustion. He was thankful of that, as if she'd been aware of his kind gesture, she'd probably mock him for it. He was not a hero, nor was he kind. It would do no good for her to be thinking that way.

"Troublesome woman." He muttered, stopping only to toss a blanket over her still form before shutting the door behind him on the way out.

* * *

_*Somewhere In Town*_

_7:00 pm_

He watched from his car as the attractive brunette woman exited the clothing store, shopping bag in hand. She chattered mindlessly into her cellphone, not aware that a steely pair of eyes followed her every move. She walked down the sidewalk towards where her car was parked.

He narrowed his eyes, waiting for the moment that she realized her vehicle would not start. He loved that most, seeing the interruption of a routine, watching as something completely fell apart and they didn't know what to do next.

Still talking on the phone, she opened the door with one hand, climbing inside and placing her bag on the passenger seat.

He gripped the steering wheel tighter, agitated, impatient. The loud rock music playing over the radio drowned out the cab, but he paid no attention to the noise. He watched as her confusion presented itself with her pause and a crease on her forehead. She frowned, turning the key several times but having no luck starting the engine.

Angry, she got out of the car and seemed to dial a new number on her phone, holding it up to her ear in frustration. There, that was his cue.

Turning the key, his vehicle roared to life, and he switched gear, pulling back into the flow of traffic. He passed her by, going a street down and turning around to head the opposite direction. Towards her.

She paced back and forth on the sidewalk, shielding her eyes with her hand from the bright sun. He pulled in directly in front of her car, slowing to a stop and exiting the vehicle quickly.

"…don't need a ride after all. No, there's a tow truck here now. Ok, I'll see you at 8." He heard her say as he approached. She gave a grateful smile, sighing loudly.

"Wow, you showed up at just the right time." The woman said, flashing a smile. He narrowed his eyes, but she didn't notice it from under his hat. He walked up to the car and gestured for her to pop the hood.

"Let's see what we've got here." He said, internally measuring her body for what he had planned later. Yes, she would do nicely…

"I don't know why it won't start. It has a brand new battery and everything." She called from her front seat, pulling the tab to pop the hood. It clicked open and he propped it up with the latch. Leaning forward, he peered into the engine bay, pretending to take his time as he 'searched' for the problem. Then, a moment later, he pointed to a hose by the engine.

"Someone cut your engine hose." He explained as she walked up, then watched as she ran a hand through her hair in frustration.

"That's just great…" She muttered, probably thinking about how much it would cost her to repair it. Though, he assumed that would be the last thing on her mind before too long.

"Lucky for you, I'm not on my way to another call." He flashed her a charismatic grin, watching as she returned it with one of her own. "Let's get you hooked up and out of here."

"Thanks, I really appreciate it." She said, and he only laughed a little, careful to to let on that he could care less what she appreciated. Walking back to his vehicle for his tools, he grinned madly to himself, curling his fingers in anticipation for what was to come.

* * *

Lexi cracked one eye open, finally aware that she was, in fact, awake. With a groan, she took a deep breath through her nose, rubbing at her eyes blearily. The first thing she registered was that it was night. One look at the clock told her it was 10:51 pm, but she couldn't ever remember falling asleep in the first place.

Frowning, she slowly rolled out of bed and padded towards the door. Reaching for the handle, her stomach growled loudly, and she placed a hand on her chest as the rumbling slowly died away.

"Starving…" She muttered to herself, turning the handle and stepping out into the hallway.

The dark house was illuminated only by a lamp from the living room, and Lexi raised a brow when she saw Law still up, reading from one of her medical textbooks.

"You're still awake?" She asked softly, making him look up from his reading.

"Some nights I find it hard to sleep." He answered truthfully, watching her come down the stairs. "Now, why are you awake, Lexi-ya?"

She yawned deeply, holding onto the banister as she set foot on the ground floor. "I'm not sure, but probably because I'm hungry." As if to emphasize the fact, her stomach rumbled again, causing the pirate to smirk and Lexi to blush. Before she could unintentionally embarrass herself further, she headed towards the kitchen and opened up the fridge.

"Thanks for bringing me upstairs…" She faintly called, and Law raised a brow in surprise. He hadn't expected that.

"Hmm. Perhaps you should be more careful not to faint in the future." He replied, unable to resist teasing her just a little.

"Hmph." She retorted, just loud enough for him to hear as she rummaged through the various food items in the fridge. Seeing nothing she wanted, she switched over to the freezer. There was still a frozen dinner not yet eaten, so she removed it from the box and walked over to the microwave.

There was silence, and Lexi thought that maybe Law went back to his reading. Before, she might have been irritated that he was touching her stuff, but she supposed there wasn't much she could do to stop him, so she let it be. It wasn't like he would rip it up or something. At least she hoped.

The whirring of the microwave putting her into a sort of trance, she was startled when it beeped several times, indicating it was done. Opening the door, she retrieved her food and turned to open the drawer with the silverware.

Macaroni and cheese in hand, she walked into the living room and sat on the couch opposite of Law. With a sigh, she placed the tray on the coffee table and curled up on the arm of the couch.

"I don't know how much more I can take of this…" She sighed, eating a mouthful of her dinner. Law, his interest piqued, glanced up at her.

"Of what exactly?"

She gestured to the medical book in his hand. "College. Studying. Life in general." She stabbed a few more macaronis with her fork, chewing them quickly. "Nothing is as I'd hoped it would be…"

"You mean since your parents were killed?" He asked in the silence, and she stilled, fork still in her mouth. Eyes wide, she turned to Law quickly.

"How do you-"

"Your grandmother told us." He interrupted, watching her reaction with interest. She glanced away, seeing the anger well up in her eyes, but then it was replaced with a weariness.

"I see." Was all she said, but he'd hoped from more than that.

"She said you blame yourself for what happened." His prying was making her retreat further into herself, if her body language was anything to go by. She tucked her legs up underneath her and tilted away from him.

"Yeah…" She ate a few more bites before adding softly, "If I hadn't have left the house, they'd still be alive."

"That may well be true." He said, and she looked at him sharply. Obviously she didn't appreciate him saying these harsh things, but he only shrugged. "You can't know what would or would not have happened if your actions had been different. You'll just have to live with the outcome." He answered honestly.

She was silent, staring at the black screen of the tv, chewing mindlessly on her dinner. There was a long pause in the conversation, Law staring at the brunette in wait, knowing that she would be the next one to speak or she'd get up and go back to bed. He was rather curious which option she'd pick. And he wasn't disappointed.

"When are you guys going back to your world?" She asked after several minutes of silence. He shrugged.

"Unless we find out what exactly caused us to be sent here, we can't possibly find a way back."

"Well, I hope you find it soon." She retorted in a clipped tone. He smirked in amusement, noting the way she wouldn't look at him but down at her now-empty tray of food. She absentmindedly swirled the fork in the left-over cheese, saying nothing.

"Are you that eager to get rid of us, Lexi-ya?" He asked, and she spared him a glance.

"You guys have made my life an insane mess since you got here. I'll be happier when you are out of my life." She accused, and he had to admit that perhaps they'd caused quite a lot of commotions since arriving, but he only chuckled deeply.

"And yet you still haven't called the authorities, though you've had plenty of opportunities to do so."

To this she had no answer, but she still didn't feel like getting up quite yet. There was another long pause as she continued to stare into space, and Law went back to the medical book after awhile, convinced that her next move would be to head back to bed.

Again, he was pleasantly surprised.

"Tell me about your world." Her quiet voice said. Law glanced up in surprise, staring at Lexi's face to see if she'd been kidding, but she returned the gaze with her serious green eyes,

Setting the medical book down, he turned back to her. "What exactly would you like to know?"

"Everything you can think of. I just want to know." She propped up her head with one hand, as Law took a moment to think, before telling her all about the things he'd come to know in his time as a pirate.


	26. A Party?

Law found that in the days after talking to Lexi late that night, she was much more tolerant of instances caused by the engineers. Even when they started a small fire in the microwave by trying to heat up an entire bread loaf, plastic wrapping and all, she only laughed and doused the inside with some water from the sink.

The pirate wondered why that was, but never really got a chance to ask, as she was still busy finishing up her studying. With the amount of work she claimed to have, he wondered how any of the information managed to stick around in her memory for too long. Another problem he had with her world's education system. Knowledge wasn't memorizing things, it was experiencing them, especially with something as delicate as the medical field.

Still, he was left to wonder by himself. Bepo and the two engineers had decided to take a walk through the forest, on the one condition that they took Nana's cellphone with them, pre-dialed to Lexi's number in case of emergency. She didn't want another gas station incident happening.

So, Law found himself lounging on the couch for the fifth day in a row with nothing to do, and he was beginning to grow weary of the inactivity. Perhaps that's what he missed most, the never-ending events, something to occupy his mind at all times. Here, there seemed to be a lot of downtime to replace the constant threat of certain death.

Sighing loudly, he rubbed at his eyes in frustration. There had to be something he could do. Stretching out his arms and swinging his legs over the side of the couch, he stood, yawning deeply. Glancing around lazily, his eyes fell onto Lexi's purse, hanging on the end of the stairs banister. Curiosity getting the better of him, and with a cautionary glance to the top of the stairs, he approached her bag.

It was black with strange gold triangle patterns all over it, though what the symbol meant was beyond him. Shaking his head in dismissal, he opened up the flap and looked inside. Several pieces of crumpled up paper caught his eyes first. He couldn't quite understand what they were, but at the top they had titles like 'Wendy's' and 'Panda Express.' Shrugging, he set those on the nearby table and continued to rummage inside.

A few pens, a wallet by the looks of it, and a pair of sunglasses made up the rest of the contents. Nothing overall interesting, to his disappointment, moving to grab the pieces of paper and put them back, he noticed a small white square of paper left in the very corner of her purse. It was severely crushed and crumpled, hidden by the folds of fabric of the bag. Taking it out, he unfurled the crushed edges and read what it said.

'GAMMA SIGMA END-OF-SEMESTER KICK-OFF PARTY.' Ah, yes. The party that the gentleman from Lexi's university had spoken of. He was rather curious of what a party would be like in her world, and part of him wanted to know what kind of drunk Lexi was. He smirked to himself, imagining the brunette swaying on a barstool and ultimately falling over from an excess of alcohol. He couldn't imagine she wasn't a lightweight.

Stuffing the piece of paper into his pocket, he replaced the other ones and closed the bag once more, leaving it in a way where it wouldn't be noticeably disturbed. Returning to his seat on the couch, he folded his hands together above his head, content to propose his idea once Lexi came back downstairs.

* * *

Highlighting the last few words of the page, Lexi sat back with a deep sigh, beginning to feel that familiar cramping in her back from prolonged amounts of time hunched over. She stood, bending backwards to release the pressure temporarily. Groaning, she let herself go limp for a moment, feeling the urge to blackout as the blood rushed to her extremities. It was an odd feeling, but strangely pleasant. It would be impossible to explain, but something about it was refreshing, in a sense.

She heard her phone begin to vibrate on her desk, moving a centimeter or two to the left with each ring. Picking it up, she saw it was Brittany calling, and she swiped the screen to answer.

"Hello?"

 _"_ _Lex! So, I just got word of this party of Friday, and we are totally going."_  At the mention of the party, Lexi sighed deeply again. She hadn't forgotten, she just wished that someone hadn't informed Brittany. Because this would happen. Just what she needed. Another chance to run into Cooper.

"Listen, Brittany, I'd love to go-"

 _"_ _No, you wouldn't, you hermit. You'd rather stay at home in the dark and watch Netflix on your laptop."_  Lexi said nothing, knowing that Brittany was right in her accusations.  _"Come on, you've only ever gone to one party with me and you left halfway through because you were 'sick.''_  She could hear the sarcasm through the phone, and the brunette was willing to bet her friend was even doing the quotation gesture from the other end.

"I've got lots of studying to do." She tried, hoping that she could be let off the hook on this one. Though with each excuse, the chances seemed slimmer and slimmer.

_"_ _Who doesn't? You've been studying for days, and you need a break. I need one too."_

Just for shits and giggles, Lexi pretended to cough a couple times. "I'm sick?"

 _"_ _You are going to this party with me, even if I have to drag your antisocial ass out of your house. You understand me?"_  Figuring that there was no way out of having to go, Lexi groaned.

"Fine, but what am I supposed to wear? You and me both know I don't have fancy clothes." It was true. The nicest thing Lexi owned was probably the Sunday dress Nana had bought her a couple years previously for church. And even then it probably no longer fit her.

 _"_ _Well, aren't you in luck? I've decided, being the dedicated and awesome best friend that I am, that we are going shopping for your early birthday present."_  The black-haired girl sounded pleased over the phone. _"So get ready because I'll be there in ten minutes."_

"What?" Lexi stood up straighter, not expecting this new development. "Wait, Brit-" But it was too late. By then, the line clicked, indicating that Brittany had hung up the phone. On purpose, no doubt, to prevent her from disagreeing.

"I would hate you if I could…" She muttered, grinning despite herself. Sometimes, it was good that Brittany was around. It made things interesting.

Resigning herself to the idea that this impromptu shopping trip would actually happen, she began getting dressed. Picking a random t-shirt from her closet and a nicer pair of jeans, she brushed out her hair so it wasn't tangled, then pushed out the door into the hallway.

Law was lying on the couch, watching tv, and Nana chose that moment to come out of her bedroom as well. She looked up and saw Lexi dressed up like she was leaving.

"Lexi, dear, are you going somewhere?" It wasn't often the brunette went out anywhere, so she was curious.

"Oh, I'm going shopping with Brittany. She's dragging me to this party on Friday and-"

"I'm going with you." Law interrupted. Before Lexi could interject that, no, he would not be coming along, Nana clapped her hands together in excitement.

"Oh, Lexi, you've got a date! Why if I'd have known that I would've gotten this out a long time ago." She scurried away back into her bedroom, and Lexi turned to Law with a glare, trying to ignore the way her face heated up at the word 'date.'

"Why do you always do this?" She whispered harshly, but he only smirked and crossed his arms. She could tell he wouldn't back down from his self-made decision, and that she was wasting breath telling him otherwise. Still, his attitude irritated her. Nana emerged a moment later, carrying a tin of some kind in her hand.

"I've been saving up some extra funds for something like this." She explained, pulling at the lid of the tin. It came off with a loud pop, and she reached inside.

"Nana, what-" Before she could finish asking her question, Nana pulled out a thick wad of cash, rolled up and secured with a rubber band. It was all in old, crumpled and faded twenty dollar bills. She took the roll gingerly, turning it over in her hands.

"Your mother and I both agreed to put some money into buying you a nice outfit for a party just like this one." Her grandmother smiled, placing a loving hand on Lexi's cheek. Giving it a gentle pat, she gave her toothy smile that didn't come around very often. "We wanted you to enjoy life a little, especially after all the hard work you've done towards getting your degree and helping to take care of me."

"I-" She started, but couldn't tear her eyes away from the large amount of money in her hands. She thumbed across the bills, watching as it quickly flipped through the stack. There must be at least $500 in the roll. They couldn't afford to just spend that kind of money willy nilly. "I can't take all of this…" She said quietly, holding out the roll. But Nana forcefully pushed it back.

"Lexi, dear, just take it as a gift from me. Who knows how many more I'll be able to give you anyways." She said, her voice growing more gentle. With one last loving pat on her cheek, Nana walked back into her room and shut the door behind her, ending the debate there.

Lexi's gaze returned to the money, suddenly speechless from this sudden development. She hadn't known about Nana's and her mother's intention to help pay for a nice outfit. She would have expected it to be for prom or a formal dance, but knowing herself, she never would have gone to one anyway. Maybe Nana was just taking what she could get.

Beside her, the pirate watched with interest at her apparent internal dilemma about receiving an apparently large amount of money. She gazed at it as if it were made of gold, but the bills in her hand didn't look like much. Deciding that she would probably stand there all day if he didn't do something, he rolled his eyes. Law cleared his throat, gaining her attention once more. "I believe my clothes may be too casual for what this party has in mind." He hinted, and she nodded absentmindedly.

"We can get you some new ones." She remarked, slowly placing the money in her wallet. Just then, the sound of a car horn caused them to turn towards the door.

"That's Brittany." Lexi said, moving to open the front door. Purse slung over her shoulder, she opened the door. Law followed, closing it behind him and descending the porch steps a moment after the brunette.

"Hi, Law!" Brittany called from the car, waving out of her rolled-down window. Law only gave a smirk in return, and Lexi rolling her eyes. "Let's get a move on! It looks like it'll rain soon!" She called, beckoning them over quicker.

With a sigh, she approached the passenger door, wondering what this shopping trip would have in store for her.

* * *

_*A Basement Somewhere*_

"Mmmph! Mmm!" The brunette tried fighting at the duct tape that bound her wrists behind the wooden chair, pulling and tugging against the bonds to no avail. A piece was taped across her mouth as well, preventing her cries from reaching a high enough volume for anyone to hear. Tears streaked down her face, wetting the edges of the tape and running down her slender neck.

She tried kicking, but a pair of shackled kept them secured to the concrete floor by a heavy metal ring under the chair. It clanked each time she tried yanking her feet against the shackles.

"Mmmmph!" She tried again, struggling to see into the darkened basement. Despite a single lightbulb above her, which only lit a few feet in each direction, there was total darkness. It was hot, almost leading her to believe that it wasn't a basement at all, save for the window wells she could barely make out along the other wall.

"Mmm…" Her cries were beginning to grow weaker, replaced instead by pitiful sobs as the realization that no one could hear her began to sink in. She sat there, uncomfortably restrained, in an unfamiliar place, with the fear that she would die alone and afraid at the hands of some-

The sound of a door opening somewhere behind and above her caused her to stop, stilling in fear as to who it might be. Heavy footsteps against stairs, that came next, and she swallowed thickly. Her eyes darted about, trying to determine which side he would come from, but it seemed to reverberate and was therefore impossible to pinpoint. The steps came closer and closer, slowly taking their time as if the wearer knew it was prolonging her torture.

There was some shuffling behind her, and then the sound of a button being pressed. She was confused for a moment, but then the opening chords of an unfamiliar old song began to play from the darkness.

_"_ _Hey, hey…what's the matter with your head, yeah…_

_"_ _Hey, hey…what's the matter with your mind and your sighin' and a ooh-oh-oh…"_

"You know," A male voice said a moment later, "I've always had a thing for brunettes."

Suddenly, a hand ran itself through her hair and she tried jerking her head away with a panicked cry. He chuckled at her newly-found strength to resist her captivity, waiting until she tired herself out again before speaking.

"You may not be  _her,"_  He continued, "But you'll do for now." She tensed as his steps began again. She could feel someone in the room with her but she couldn't see them, and that made it all worse. She whimpered, wondering if this was all some twisted dream she couldn't wake up from. The music kept playing in the background, floating in and out of her focus.

"There's just something about them that makes them so…different, something that all others lack." The man began to circle her, and he now stepped into her field of vision. She stared at the ski-mask that covered his face, desperate trying to remember what he looked like from before, to try to place him, but in her fear her memory went blank.

"It's there but I can't quite place it." He started, seeming to ponder his own musings. She stared through her tear-laden eyes in confusion. She didn't know what this man was talking about but upsetting him may cause him to react, so she gave no indication otherwise. Then, he held up a finger in realization.

"No. Wait. I know what it is." Then, he leaned closer, his face inches from hers. She stared into his face, memorizing every small detail she could, but movement down below made her shift attention. He lifted up a small knife, held in a tight fist, the blade catching the light of the solitary lightbulb that swung above them both. Her breathing came rapidly, and she pushed herself as far away as she could from this man. He did nothing but smile.

"They scream the loudest."


	27. Shopping Trip

Lexi took the passenger seat, while Law climbed into the back. Once he was situated in the back, Brittany turned and gave him a winning smile. "Fancy meeting you here." She started, but Lexi smacked her in the arm before she could continue any further.

"Let's go already." The brunette said, hoping that she wouldn't have to sit through a car ride of the two of them flirting back and forth. She knew how stubborn and pursuant Brittany could be, and Law appeared to not mind one bit. If there was one thing she knew after being friends with Brittany for eight years, it was that if a guy showed any sort of reciprocation of Brittany's flirting, it usually meant they would end up dating.

"Hmm…" Brittany muttered, shoving the car into reverse and backing out of her driveway. Straightening out on the road, she switched to drive and started down the road towards the open country.

"Where are we going exactly?" Lexi questioned, searching for her own sunglasses in her cluttered purse. She threw them on, leaning back further into the plush seats. It was a little hot, and so she rolled down her window, letting the breeze cool her fast. Behind her, she could hear Law clear his throat.

"What is the normal attire for a…frat party?" The pirate asked, stumbling slightly over the unfamiliar term. Beside her, Lexi said Brittany smirk.

"Oh, you know, all the guys wear togas and sandals, wreaths of leaves in your hair. That sort of thing." She responded, and Lexi laughed a little.

"Don't listen to her, she's just being mean." The brunette supplied, glancing back at Law with a smile. "You can just wear normal street clothes."

He raised a brow, not quite sure what a 'toga' even was. "Hmm." He replied noncommittally.

"Wait, you were being serious?" The black-haired beauty asked in shock, sparing him a glance in her rearview mirror. With a raised brow, he nodded, and she sat back in silence for a moment. "I didn't think you were serious. You've never been to a frat party?"

"No. We don't…have them where I'm from." He answered as truthfully as he could. He couldn't exactly say that he was a pirate from another dimension. Lexi had stressed how crazy he would sound if he told anyone that.

"Well, in all honesty, those parties aren't much. Imagine a party with really loud music that gives you a headache, half the house smells like weed, and the other half like alcohol. Add in a swimming pool somewhere, bad decisions, and cheating partners exposed. That's a frat party." Brittany finished with a smile, proud of her creative definition of a frat party.

"I see…"

"And you wonder why I don't want to go…" Lexi muttered, but Brittany heard her. She reached over and slapped Lexi on the shoulder none too gently.

"Stop moping over there. You've got me with you, and I  _am_  the party. Besides, we'll probably just end up drinking a few shots and watching other people embarrass themselves. You'll love it." The traffic light changed, and Law watched as all of the vehicles began to move forward. He still wasn't used to the movement patterns of cars, and braced himself against the handle on the side of the door as they turned.

Law mostly tuned out the two women in the front seat, watching as his surroundings rushed past. The sheer amount of buildings in the city was baffling to the pirate. He'd seen some on the way to Lexi's university before, but there seemed to be more people than even the most populated islands he'd ever visited.

His thoughts were interrupted as the car lurched immediately left, and Brittany applied the brakes, a loud horn coming from somewhere in the front.

"Learn to drive, asshole!" Brittany yelled, flipping off someone to her right. Law looked over and saw another person in a car, angrily speeding past them.

"Fuck off!" The man shouted at them, and Brittany leaned forwards.

"Yeah, that's right you son of a bitch, drive away! Coward!" Lexi pressed her friend back into her seat, speaking softly.

"Alright, I think he gets the idea."

"Like hell he does. Bastard should get off the road…" The beauty cursed under her breath, causing Law to smirk. Brittany certainly wasn't afraid of starting conflict.

"Ok, this music is getting boring." Brittany decided, slowing to a stop at the next stop light behind another car, and pulled out her phone from her purse. Law watched in confusion as she attached a cord that ran from the front of the car to her phone.

"I'm feeling something with a sick beat." The black-haired woman said, touching several things on the screen before giving it to Lexi. The starting notes of some sort of music began to play, and she turned a dial up, raising the volume.

_"_ _I want to party, you want to party, we need to party, let's have a party…_

_Saturday morning, I ain't gotta work…"_

Law frowned, silent from how ridiculous the music in Lexi's world could get, but it seemed that this kind of song was popular, because the two women up front bounced up and down to the beat, singing the lyrics as loud and off key as they wanted.

"All we need is good green and some Bou Lou, Five to one so it's guaranteed you can do you, 'Zilla keep the heater just in case we have a boo-boo, Kansas City natives and we all a little coo-coo!" They sang. Law shook his head, giving up on understanding Lexi's world entirely.

* * *

"Ok, we're here!" Brittany said over the music, putting the vehicle into park and unblocking her seatbelt. "Everyone out!"

When she turned off the car, the loud music stopped, becoming eerily silent after the constant noise. Climbing out of the car, everyone was hit with the full heat of the day as they left the air-conditioned cab of Brittany's car. Slamming the doors, Lexi and Law followed the woman towards the building.

"Dilliards? Isn't this place expensive?" Lexi asked skeptically, temporarily forgetting about the money Nana had given her. Her less-fortunate upbringing kicked in, sending a wave of uncertainty as they approached the doors. Brittany waved off her worry, opening the shiny gold and glass double doors for them.

"No worries, you'll be fine. I gotcha covered." They entered the much cooler interior, stepping into a department store with mannequins and clothes hanging on racks on either side of them. Lexi was just thankful they hadn't chosen the lingerie section to enter through, and Brittany led them down the while-tiled path towards the dress area.

"Denise!" Brittany called, waving to a woman standing at the women's dresses register station. The older, gray-haired woman looked up, smiling widely at the sight of the younger college student.

"Brittany, it's wonderful to see you. What can I find for you."

"This is my friend, Lexi. We're looking for party dresses for a frat party." The older woman glanced over at the two beside her with a knowing look.

"Ah, you college students and your parties. Well, let's get you and your friend measured and into a few selections."

Lexi and Law shared a glance of uncertainty, not quite sure what to expect from this experience. The expensive-looking store interior alone was making the brunette a little nervous.

Ushered into a dressing room, Brittany followed the sales clerk into the stall, closing the door behind them so they could take her measurements. Lexi and Law were left to sit on a plush bench down the hall.

"Everything looks so expensive…" Lexi muttered her fear aloud, not sure if the $500 Nana had saved up would even amount to anything in this place. Some of the gowns she'd walked by on their way here had price tags over $400.

"You could always just take what you want." Law shrugged, grinning at the Lexi's glare.

"Yeah, and get arrested."

"Not if you don't get caught." He pressured, but she only shook her head. He chuckled.

It was a few more minutes before the sales clerk emerged from Brittany's room. She closed the door behind her, pointing to Lexi and gesturing her to follow.

Swallowing, Lexi rose from her seat and entered the indicated dressing room right beside Brittany's, the sales clerk right behind her. The woman turned back around and gestured to her clothes. "Strip."

"R-right." The brunette did as she was told, feeling strange to be half-naked while a certain someone was nearby. Her worst fear would be that he decided to go exploring for himself, or that he accidentally got a peek of her in this state.

She shivered, thinking that perhaps that wouldn't be such a bad thing…then immediately shoved that thought back to the deepest, darkest part of her subconscious.

The sales clerk wrapped her measuring tape around various parts of her body, mumbling things below her breath as she finished up all the measurements. Finally getting the last ones, Denise nodded resolutely and straightened up.

"Wait here while I bring your dresses." And with that, she exited the stall, her footsteps carrying her down the hall until she couldn't hear them any longer.

There were a few seconds of silence until Brittany knocked on the wall between them. "How you holding up, Lex?"

"Fine." Came the answer, and Brittany laughed.

"What do you think they would do if we just decided to run through the store like this?" Her friend asked with a chuckle, and Lexi shook her head.

"You are so weird." She said in exasperation, imagining the look of Law's face at the conversations the two had on a regular basis. That would be something to see.

* * *

Law sat back on the bench with arms crossed as he waited for the clerk to return with their selections. He hadn't ever been shopping with a woman before, let alone two, and decided that it was just as boring as he imagined it would be.

Thankfully, before the two of them could engage in any more unnerving or awkward conversations that he was within earshot of, Denise returned with several different colors and styles of dresses. She first stopped by Brittany's stall, knocking and handing a few to the occupant inside. Then, she went further down to Lexi's, knocking once more and giving her dresses.

Take your time, ladies! I'll come back in a few minutes to check on you." And with that, the gray-haired woman left Law alone on the bench. With a quiet sigh, he leaned back against the wall to wait for them to come out.

Brittany came first, wearing a flashy green gown that cut off in the front at her knees and descended down to the floor at the back. It was sleeveless, and Brittany went to the mirror to look.

"Hmm…too heavy." She decided, flashing Law a quick wink before disappearing behind the door once more. Rolling his eyes, Law had to admit that he'd never met a woman quite as open and…direct, as Brittany was. The woman was something else entirely.

The sound of shuffling and a few thumps later, she emerged again, this time in a maroon, floor-length gown made of chiffon, sweeping against the floor as she walked. Returning to the mirror, she swayed back and forth, watching the fabric as it moved against her body.

"So many people would step on the hem of this thing." She decided, her mouth skewed sideways as she criticized how long the skirt was. With a shrug, she returned to her stall.

Waiting some more, Law realized that Lexi hadn't come out once since entering with the clerk. There was a distinct lack of noise from over there as well, and he wondered what she could be doing in there.

Brittany came out for a third time, decked out in a shorter, strapless, navy blue dress. It had a sequined belt of sort around the middle. She smiled widely upon seeing herself in the mirror. Glancing over at Law, she struck a provocative pose.

"Does this make my ass look great or what?"

He tilted his head, unable to find an answer for the woman. At his silence, she only laughed, gazing at herself for a few moments before turning towards the stalls again.

"Lex? What's going on in there? Come out here." She knocked against the door, as if her voice wouldn't reach her.

"No." Came the brunette's stout answer. Brittany sighed, gesturing in frustration.

"If you don't get out, I'm dragging you out." She promised, but Lexi sighed.

"I'm not coming out in this." She said resolutely, happy that the door was locked. Law watched in amusement as the black-haired woman tried jumping to see over the top of the door, but she couldn't get high enough.

"I bet you look great, what's the problem?" She tried, hoping that Lexi might decide to unlock the door and let her in, or at least come out on her own.

"It shows everything! It's way too revealing!" The brunette called.

Just then, the clerk returned to check on them, hearing the conversation between the two girls. "Is there a problem?" She asked, and Brittany brightened up.

"Lexi is too afraid to show me her dress. Could you maybe open the door for me?" Brittany asked sweetly, and Denise gave her a knowing smile once again.

"No, wait!" Lexi called, hearing the keys in the door rattle as the sales clerk unlocked it. The door opened, and Brittany stepped inside out of Law's view. Denise stood back and waited for the two inside to sort it out.

"Brittany, I can't wear any of these!"

"What are you talking about, these look great! And the one you're wearing looks so nice on you! Come out here and see yourself."

"I can't go out in this-"

"Stop struggling!"

Brittany came out first, dragging a not very happy Lexi behind her, who sported a short black dress, with a halter top that fit her curves in all the right ways. Brittany pushed her in front of the mirror, forcing the brunette to look.

"Do you see this? You look hot as fuck. Nothing is wrong with this dress." She continued, but Lexi crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"It shows so much though-"

"So what? This is a party. You know half the people there are probably going in booty shorts and bikini tops anyways, even if the dress code is semi-formal. People are gonna be drunk and they won't care what you look like." Lexi's expression still showed her doubt, and Brittany sighed once more, glancing at Law.

"Law, tell her she looks amazing and that she's just being stupid!" Because of her outburst, all eyes were turned towards the pirate, except for Lexi's. She looked decidedly embarrassed to be put on display, of sorts, and cast her eyes down to the floor. Still, he noticed her glance up once at him, before looking away again.

He really didn't like how Brittany put him on the spot like that, but there wasn't anything for him to do about it. So in the most uncaring tone of voice he could muster, he shrugged with no expression.

"It looks fine."

"Are all of you blind?" Brittany lamented, gesturing to the mirror. "Lexi, this dress looks great on you. You're getting it."

"What?"

Without getting another chance to speak, Brittany was shoving her back into the dressing room, telling her to get dressed again. After shutting the door and returning to her own stall, the older woman stood beside Law on the bench, waiting for the two women to finish.

"She was quite pretty, wasn't she?" Denise asked coyly, intentionally not meeting his gaze when he swung around to look at her in suspicion. His eyes narrowed, wondering if the events that occurred were directed towards him. If the hint of a smile that played at her lips was anything to go by, he was correct. He didn't bother answering her question.

Finally, the two girls came out in their regular clothes, Lexi's face still red from being put under the spotlight in that dress. Before she could object, Denise went into both of their dressing rooms and gathered up their dresses of choice, whisking them away to the register before she knew it.

Brittany led them away towards the counter, and Lexi sighed as she followed her best friend.

"Sometimes I hate her…" She muttered. Law, who walked beside her, smirked. Their friendship dynamic was rather strange, though he had an inkling that as much as Lexi said those things, she still loved her friend.

Denise rang them both up, each one paying their own part of the bill. Lexi was relieved to see that the black dress was only $249, so it wouldn't exceed her spending limit, though she still wasn't used to such a total.

Law was secretly glad that she'd been forced to buy it, thinking back to the way it had accentuated her hips in just the right way. While he would never admit that he did, he thought that she looked rather attractive while wearing it.

He was just admiring her assets, he told himself, only partially convincing himself of his reasons behind staring at her for longer than he intended.

* * *

"You're next." Brittany said, pointing to Law as they exited the store and walked towards her car, shopping bags in hand.

That's right. He'd almost forgotten that he needed new clothes as well. Shrugging, he nodded, resigning himself to a similar experience as with the previous clerk.

Thankfully, his shopping trip wasn't half as dramatic. Brittany drove them to another store, herding them inside in search of a sales associate.

The girl at the counter looked up with wide eyes at the three, focused mostly on Law, and Brittany smirked. Obviously, everyone noticed an attractive alpha male like Law, but Lexi wasn't so sure what to think. She shouldn't care, but for whatever reason, she didn't like people looking at him like that.

It was probably best not to think about that.

"This man needs nice clothes. Show me your best." Brittany demanded, exuding her dominance over the meek sales associate. Nodding, the girl went to find clothes that would match well and fit him.

He was showed to a dressing room with several pairs of jeans and shirts. Raising a brow at the offered clothes, he took them and went inside, locking it behind him. Brittany and Lexi chatted in a few of the chairs until he came out.

The girl really knew her stuff. She'd given him regular dark blue jeans, paired with a white dress shirt. Law stepped out, feeling rather uncomfortable in the long sleeves. They were tighter than his usual hoodie, and felt restrictive. Brittany stood, circling him with a contemplative expression as she took in his figure.

"Hmm…" She muttered, stopping and reaching forward at the sleeves. "Roll these up."

Deciding that this whole experience would be over quicker if he listened, he allowed Brittany to cuff the sleeves at his elbows. Once that was done, she stepped back and observed once more.

"And this." She said, reaching up and taking the spotted hat from his head, unleashing the untamed mess of black hair. He frowned, intent on arguing that the hat stayed, but she stopped him with a raised finger. "You can have it back after the party, but I get to keep it for now. Got it?"

He only glared, knowing in the short time he'd associated with Brittany that she got her way or things would get ugly. Crossing his arms, he rolled his eyes.

Unbeknownst to him, this move caused the muscles in his arms to stand out against the tight sleeves of the shirt, and all three women in his presence immediately locked eyes with the motion. Lexi could feel a bit of a blush appearing on her face, and found something fascinating with the ceiling, while the sales associate resorted to openly staring. Lexi did, however, hear the almost silent 'Sweet Jesus,' the girl muttered under her breath.

* * *

Thankful that the whole experience hadn't taken too long, Law followed Lexi and Brittany out of the store, carrying a bag with his new clothes. The two talked in front on him, too low to hear.

"Did you see those tattoos on his arms?" Brittany whispered, practically drooling over the memory back in the store. "I could stare at them forever."

"You are super creepy. Remind me never to be seen with you in public ever again." Lexi joked, finding that somehow she'd had a fun time shopping with her friend. They didn't get to do things like this often, as the brunette never had a lot of money to freely spend. It was nice to get out and do things every once in a while.

"You still love me though." Her friend retorted with a grin, and the two laughed as they climbed into her car.


	28. 7 Minutes of Heaven and Hell

**Warning: Chapter contains sex, drugs, alcohol, and rape. This story has now been marked as rated R.**

* * *

It was the day of the party, and oh God, was Lexi nervous. That morning, she had woken up thinking that everything was normal, beginning to plan her study schedule around eating and pee breaks for the day. But then, she glanced at her phone, seeing a missed text from her friend.

_'I have a pair of silver heels for that dress if you want to borrow them. ;) I'm sure SOMEONE will appreciate the way they make your ass looks.'_

Her face went red, remembering that she had, indeed, gone shopping with Brittany and that it hadn't all been some vivid dream. One glance at the closet confirmed her fears, as the dress she'd bought hung from a hanger on the top of the door.

"I'm so gonna die…" She muttered, falling back into her pillow with a groan.

* * *

"I can't believe she took my hat." Law grumbled aloud, sitting at the kitchen table beside Lexi as they both drank from coffee mugs. Glaring at the table, he looked rather uncomfortable without the spotted head accessory on. She chuckled, swallowing her last sip of the hot drink.

"Brittany has a way of getting what she wants, no matter what. It's uncanny." Law raised a brow, thinking that perhaps that was an understatement. From her display of asserting her will onto everyone she encountered, she was certainly a force to be reckoned with.

Just then, the door to the pirates' room flew open, and the two engineers stumbled out into a heap on the floor. Lexi looked on with exasperation, watching as they bickered with each other even as they attempted to untangle themselves from the pile of their own arms and legs.

"Get off me, baka!"

"You first, baka!"

"They are actual three-year-olds in adult bodies." Lexi decided with a humorless laugh, nodding as she said her conclusion aloud. Law sighed deeply, leaning an elbow on the table and supporting his head with his hand.

"Sometimes I wonder."

"Lexi-chan!" Shachi and Penguin called. "What's for breakfast?" They rushed down the steps to the kitchen, pushing and shoving each other out of the way to get there first. She calmly waited until they were directly in front of the table, clasping their hands in a begging fashion in great anticipation of her answer.

"Cereal." She said bluntly, pointing to the pantry. Instantly, their faces fell.

"But…can you make us pancakes like you did that one time?" Shachi asked, hopping side to side in hopes she would agree. The whole situation would have made her laugh if she hadn't been so tired.

"Not today, guys. Maybe tomorrow."

"Aww…" They muttered, resignedly turning and wandering over to the pantry, opening up the door with much less enthusiasm than from before. Lexi chuckled under her breath while shaking her head.

"Actual three-year-olds." She repeatedly quietly, causing Law to smirk besides himself.

* * *

"Do I really have to?" Lexi moaned, laying on the couch as she tried to convince her friend to leave her be. "I don't see why I've got to do all this extra stuff for this party. The dress was enough."

 _"Uh uh, don't skip out on me now. We are getting your hair and nails done. Now are you going to meet me at the salon or what?"_  Her friend said, and Lexi rubbed her face in consternation. She was already done with today, and it wasn't even lunch.

After saying her goodbyes to her friend, Lexi stared at her purse, debating whether she wanted to risk facing Brittany's wrath if she blew her off at the salon. There'd be hell to pay afterwards, and maybe it wasn't quite worth it. So, with another sigh, she rose from the couch and trudged over to the banister where her bag hung.

"Going somewhere?" Law asked with a smirk, having heard their conversation on the phone. She didn't answer, only glared as she grabbed her dress from upstairs, the keys off the peg in the hall, and left through the front door, the pirate's chuckle following her out.

* * *

Law, of course, was rather intrigued as to what this frat party would have to offer. He was tempted to 'Google It,' as Lexi often branded the term, but he thought that experiencing it first hand would give him a much better impression overall. Still, he couldn't help but wonder what a toga actually was.

He thought back to Brittany's description of a frat party, still rather confused about some of the words she'd used, but he'd focused on the alcohol more than anything.

It had been almost a month since finding themselves in Lexi's world, and Law really needed a drink. They didn't have any in the house, for Nana's safety Lexi said, but that didn't stop his taste for the drink, and he once again wondered what his crew were doing back in his world.

Part of him worried that they hadn't found any leads as to how to return home. In their spare time, they'd gone for drives in the forest where they had first wandered into the street and almost got hit by Lexi. They even returned to the set of caves hidden in the trees, knowing they'd come from there originally. Lexi had watched as they touched and inspected every single surface of the rocks, spending hours trying to find a way home.

With no luck yet, the doubt slowly began to chip at his confidence in finding a way back. Though, he'd figure it out eventually, he was sure.

He hoped.

Glancing at the clock, he noticed that it was almost 2:00. Lexi had been gone for almost two hours. And he was left to do nothing. With a sigh, he sat back in the reclining chair and closed his eyes, deciding a nap was better than staring into space.

* * *

Finally, after hours and hours of getting ready at Brittany's place, the two girls returned to Lexi's house at about 6:00. Lexi had called and let them know they were on their way, suggesting that Law get ready as well, stating that if he had to undress while Brittany was in the house, she couldn't be responsible for what might happen. Shaking his head, he went upstairs to put on the clothes from the store.

Penguin and Shachi were sitting on the living room floor, playing another board game from the closet. Law had instructed Bepo to stay hidden in the upstairs bedroom where they slept, aware that seeing a polar bear would probably cause problems with the black-haired woman. It was miraculous she hadn't seen him when she'd barged in to help them get Nana back home from Walmart, but they didn't want to take any chances this time around.

He heard Brittany's car pull up into the driveway, a few seconds later the doors were slammed, and then her front door opened, revealing the two made-up women.

Brittany, of course, entered first, outfitted in her blue dress from the store and gold heels that strapped halfway up her calves. With a matching necklace and gold eyeshadow, she was look akin to some kind of goddess.

"What do you think?" She asked, spinning in a slow circle to show him the whole ensemble.

"What do women feel the need to ask such questions?" Law responded, crossing his arms. Penguin and Shachi, on the other hand, were practically drooling over her already.

"Brittany-chan, you look amazing!"

"Maybe you can take us to the party with you?"

"Yeah, we'd be good dates."

Law noticed that their noses dripped a little blood, and he shook his head. Those two would never change. Brittany only laughed at their antics, glowing under the showered attention.

"Sorry, boys, I've already got a hottie waiting for me there." She winked back.

"Where is Lexi-ya?" Law asked, noticing her absence. Brittany gave a grin, glancing back towards the door.

"She's still working up the nerve to come inside." They went to the windows on either side of the door, watching as the brunette paced back and forth behind the car, carefully shielded by the vehicle so they couldn't fully see her. Brittany sighed. "You'd think she hated being visible at all."

After a few more seconds, she stopped her pacing, seeming to square her shoulders before emerging from behind the car to walk up to the house.

Law's eyes couldn't help but widen as she approached, his gaze lingering over the way the dress made her look once again, but with the high silver heels and her hair down, it seemed to go from beautiful to sexy all at once. She had a single silver bracelet on, and minimal makeup, which suited Law and Lexi just fine.

"Aint she gorgeous?" Brittany asked, elbowing him in the side with a knowing look. He opted to simply glare at her in silence.

Lexi pushed through the door, slowly walking inside in the unfamiliar heels. She wasn't used to such dangerous things. "Hi." She said, not meeting anyone's eyes. Unfortunately, it seemed the engineers had recovered from Brittany's entrance, because they now locked onto Lexi.

"Oh, Lexi-chan, take us to the dance instead?"

"I've never seen a woman so beautiful!"

Their compliments made her face turn red, and she crossed her arms in front of her chest with a shy smile. Law watched but said nothing. Lexi was a little disappointed about that, for reasons she didn't want to think about, but figured that was how it always would have been. Law seemed too serious for his own good sometimes. Maybe this party would be good for him too, as long as he stayed out of trouble.

Just then, Nana decided to emerge from her bedroom, spotting the two girls and Law standing by the front door. "Oh, my!" She hustled over, giving Lexi a look-over before holding the brunette's cheeks in her hands. "You look just like your mother did when she went to those parties, all put together and beautiful. Oh, you look lovely!" She fawned.

Despite feeling extremely out of place in the fancy dress, she couldn't help but smile at Nana's words. The pride and happiness that radiated from her eyes couldn't be missed, and she was glad that Nana got to experience her going to a dance. She knew how much it meant to the old woman, who knew she had a limited time left on this earth.

"Thanks, Nana."

"Told you." Brittany interjected, poking the brunette in the cheek. Swatting her hand away, Lexi chuckled. The black-haired woman took out her phone, seeing the time. "Looks like we gotta go."

"Oh, don't let me keep you, go have fun!" Her grandmother said, watching as they shuffled out the door and to the car. "Drive safely! And Lexi, you come back with a boyfriend, you hear?" She hollered from afar.

Lexi's eyes widened, the red flushing back to her face. Beside her, Law smirked, not missing the embarrassment etched on her face. Before Nana could say anything worse, they bundled in the car and Brittany drove off.

* * *

Even before they reached the frat house, which was at the end of the street, they could hear the low bass of the music from the inside. Cars lined the sides of the road, the nearby driveways as well, and they circled the next street over in order to find a spot to park. People milled the streets, and Brittany had to honk a bunch of times to get them to move out of the way.

Finally parking along the side of the street, they all got out of the car and started walking to the frat house.

"There's so many people…" Lexi observed as the rounded the corner and the house was in sight. A mob of people gathered on the front lawn of the house, not really doing anything, but a few people were running around. The music from within the house could be heard several houses down the street, and the bass seemed to vibrate through the ground.

They walked closer and closer, a couple a little ways ahead of them as they approached the house, and they could hear the loud murmur from everyone talking and shouting and laughing.

Lexi saw two guys standing at the front door of the house, ushering people inside and welcoming the attendees. Brittany, of course taking charge, ascended the steps to the house first.

"Welcome to Gamma Sigma, do you have your invitations?" The darker-skinned man to the left said, smiling at the three in a friendly manner. It was a little hard to hear him over the music and chatter inside. Lexi searched around in her purse for hers, whereas Brittany just took it out from her bra, handing it to the guy with a wink.

Giving her friend a strange look, Lexi gave him hers as well. He glanced over them before gesturing inside. "Have fun!"

"Here we go…" Lexi muttered, preparing herself for a very stressful next few hours. They stepped inside, Brittany leading the way. The entrance hallway was packed with people, some talking n the corner, while one couple made out over by the bathroom. Lexi watched as a group of people lit up cigarettes, and others took long drags from bongs.

"Lovely…" She commented, and Law overheard her. He glanced quizzically around, deciding that this frat party would be a wonderful opportunity to observe this world's culture. Obviously, it involved a lot of sex, drugs, and scantily-clad women. He couldn't exactly complain about the view, though the noise didn't have to be so loud in his opinion.

They walked past the hall and into the large living room area with an attached open kitchen. The house was certainly big, comfortably fitting probably 100 people on the inside, though it was filled to capacity and then some, making it hard to navigate across the room.

"Hey, its the rookie!" A male voice called over the loud noises. The three stopped, turning to see Cooper and his posse of fraternity mates behind him. He approached Law, tossing an arm around his shoulder and pulling him closer. "Glad you could make it!"

Being this close to the man's face, he could smell the strong alcohol of some kind on his breath. Obviously the man had been drinking for some time today. Cooper's attention was switched to Brittany and Lexi. The black-haired beauty wasn't paying much attention, rapt on finding her date for the night who was supposed to meet them there.

"Looks like you brought her after all." Cooper said, laughing a little before finally letting Law go. "Nice dress, Laurie."

"It's Lexi." She said, knowing before she answered that he wouldn't remember it anyways. He was already drunk.

"Oh, my bad." He chuckled, "Enjoy the party! We've got food and beer in the kitchen, and there's stuff going on outside too." With that, he wandered away through the crowd, welcoming newcomers and greeting old friends.

"I really don't like that guy." Lexi decided, turning to a chuckling Law beside her. "But a beer sounds really good right now. You want one?"

He nodded, following her over to the kitchen where two guys had set up beer pong on the table. Their friends gathered around on either side. As they passed by, one of them made a shot, landing it in one of the cups. The rest cheered, urging the other to chug the red solo cup down.

There was a large open cooler on the floor by the fridge, and Lexi grabbed two beer bottles from the ice, handing one to Law. Grabbing a bottle opener from the counter, she flipped the lid with a pop, tossing it with the pile of tops already on the counter.

"I've needed one of these for awhile now." She sighed, taking a couple swigs. She sighed in relief, leaning against the counter, eyes closed. "Maybe this party is exactly what I needed."

"Hmm…" Law muttered, drinking from his own bottle. He was surprised how good the alcohol in Lexi's world was. Being so used to sake, the very different taste of beer was a welcome change, and judging by the scent, the alcohol level in it was higher than he'd expected.

"Oh look. There she goes." Lexi said, nodding towards the door to the backyard where Brittany was leading a guy by the hand somewhere. "She's at it again."

"Brittany-ya does seem like a…" He hesitated speaking his mind, wondering if his words would offend Lexi. She scoffed, realizing why he stopped.

"You mean a whore? Yeah, she kind of is. But you just gotta love her somehow." She took another sip, now down to half the beer left. "She means well, though." She added, not wanting to sound like she was dissing her friend too much.

"That's her 'meaning well?'" He asked with a smirk, directing Lexi's attention back over to Brittany, who was in the process of pulling the guy from before and another unfamiliar one by their ties into a back room of the house.

"Ah…" She sweatdropped, watching her best friend wink and giggle at the taller one, closing the door behind them as they went. "She's a little rough around the edges is all."

Law chuckled, drinking more of his beer. Suddenly, two girls started shouting in the middle of the living room, voices slurred and almost incomprehensible, but Lexi could understand enough to know that they were accusing each other of sleeping with the other's man. Then, one of them pushed the other backwards, and she wheeled backwards into the back of another woman. The unsuspecting partier spilled her beer all over herself, cursed about the state of her dress, and, turning to the one who had stumbled, pulled her to the ground by her hair, initiating a cat-fight between the three women.

"Let's go outside please." She said, hoping to not become tangled in a fight of her own. She lead the way out the door to the backyard, Law following behind her. Outside wasn't really any better, though there was more space. As Brittany had predicted before, a large pool was set in the middle of the yard, a diving board set off on one side, and a hot tub further back. The hot tub was packed, and a couple of guys competed against each other for the best tricks they could do off the diving board.

"There's no escaping it." Lexi groaned, sighing as she found a non-occupied couple of seats against the house. The two sat down and observed the party-goers drink the night away.

"Parties aren't my thing." She said, relaxing into the cushioned lawn chair. Beside her, Law nodded.

"Banquets are a regular occurrence on my ship, though my men have a way of…making them unique." He grinned, staring off as he remembered one such time. "But I agree, it's much easier to sit back and observe than partake in the…festivities." He finished, watching as a very-drunk redhead sauntered his way. Her tube top and shorts that didn't seem to reach past her ass didn't do much for her, as the face full of makeup was a rather quick turn off. She came over and sat beside Law, leaning heavily against his arm.

"Hey, good-looking. Up for some fun? I'll be a much better time than you friend over there." She slurred, eyes bloodshot as she tried focusing on him. He smirked, about to reply, but Lexi leaned over and pointed towards a group of people gathered at the edge of the fence.

"I think I saw your boyfriend over there kissing another girl. Might wanna check on that." She suggested, watching as the comprehension came over the girl's face. She scoffed, glaring over at the group before rising and going over to check just in case.

"You're welcome, by the way." Lexi smirked, looking rather proud of herself. Not only was she able to prevent Law from possibly making out with another lady, but she also managed to start another cat fight in the group of people further away, to which she should probably feel bad. But at the moment, it amused her. Maybe the alcohol was starting to get to her. Everything seemed to look a little fuzzier than normal.

"Jealous, perhaps?" He asked, watching as she knocked back the rest of her bottle. He was impressed. He'd imagine her as a lightweight, but her alcohol was gone faster than his own, and he was a regular consumer. She gave a little laugh, looking around, he guessed, for another cooler with beer in it.

"You keep thinking that, Mr. Pirate." She said, rising to go get another drink from a nearby cooler. Her face was red at the sultry sound her voice made, appalled she had even said such things, and in a sexy way to boot. Hurrying off to find her alcohol, she left Law sitting in the chair alone.

* * *

"Fuck you, asshole!" A girl shouting, tossing her drink into who Lexi assumed was her boyfriend's face. Though, it also got all over the woman he was making out with's face as well. Lexi sidestepped out of the way of the three involved, making it over to the cooler without incident. She bent over and grabbed two beers from the ice with one hand, straightening and coming face to face with the guy that had showed them inside at the door.

"Oh, you scared me." She said, laughing a little at her jump of surprise. The dark-skinned boy laughed as well, leaning easily against the house wall.

"Sorry, wasn't my intention." He reached out and grabbed her free hand, bringing it to his lips with a gentle kiss. "The name's Emmet, what's yours?"

"Oh…uh…Lexi." She stumbled, feeling the immense heat of her blush on her face. The kindness that irradiated from his eyes was surprising at a place like this. He smiled, nodding his head.

"I don't I've seen you around the campus before. Are you a new student?" She shook her head.

"Oh, no, I just don't stick around very long. What program are you in?"

"Anethesiology. You?"

"Pediatrics or General Surgeon, not quite sure yet." He chuckled, and she smiled in response.

"That's cool. Oh, I almost forgot! We completely blew past the crappy pickup lines."

"Really?" She asked with a raised brow, the amusement quite evident in her voice. He stood straighter, looking away before turning back with a seductive expression.

"Hey, girl. Are you my appendix? Because I have a gut feeling I should take you out." He waggled his eyebrows for extra measure.

"Well," Lexi managed to get in between laughs, "that was certainly crappy." He laughed good-naturedly.

"Thanks, I was working on that one all night." She laughed again, a little louder as she relaxed in the company of this new guy.

* * *

Law had finished his beer, and was sitting in the same spot waiting for Lexi to return. She was gone longer than he thought it would take, but he couldn't pick her out from all the moving people in the crowd. A body beside him gave him a surprise, and he looked over at a slightly disheveled Brittany. Her hair was a little messier than before, the red gloss around her lips smudged.

"What'd I miss?" She asked, holding a beer of her own.

"A few fights, and several people running inside to vomit, presumably."

"Aww, damn." She chuckled, taking several gulps from the beer bottle. "Where's Lex at?"

"To get more alcohol, but she's been gone awhile."

"Hmm…" Brittany peered through the crowd, standing up and searching under her hand. Then, she smirked, sitting back down in her seat. "More like to get laid."

Her words caused him to glance over to where she'd been looking, and after a few more people moved out of his line of sight, he could see Lexi standing with another guy, talking and laughing animatedly. His eyes narrowed of their own volition, and before he knew it, he was up and walking over to where they were.

Unbeknownst to him, Brittany smirked as her plan had worked perfectly. Law went over and said a few things, wrapping an arm around Lexi's shoulders and pulling her closer, displaying to Emmet what was his. With a good-natured smile, he raised his hands defensively and walked back towards Brittany.

"How'd I do?" He asked her, and she gave him the promised $20.

"Perfectly! He totally took the bait. I owe you one." She promised. He looked back over to the two in worry.

"Are you sure that was ok? She seemed pretty happy I was talking to her. I don't like the idea of toying with people." The black-haired beauty simply waved it off.

"She'll be fine. She's got that nice piece of hunk with her and they'll have so much fun together. Trust me." At Brittany's reassurances, Emmet gave her a mock salute before heading back inside the house. Brittany looked back over to Law and Lexi, satisfied that she'd laid the groundwork for the two to get to know each other. After all, jealousy was the way to a man's heart.

* * *

"I've never seen a more accurate portrayal of Macbeth, we should go see it sometime." Emmet said, and Lexi nodded enthusiastically.

"That'd be really nice, I'd love to." She said, and then felt an arm wrap around her shoulders. With a quick glance upwards, she saw Law cooly smirking at the other man.

"Unfortunately, she will be unable to attend." He said resolutely, daring the man to challenge his claim with a stare. There was a pause, where the only noise was the background music and the talking crowd around them. Glancing one or twice between the two, Emmet chuckled and raised his hands up in defeat.

"Hey, it was worth a shot. Catch you later, Lexi." She shot Lexi a smile and a wave before moving off back towards the house. It took a moment before Lexi found her voice again, and she stepped out of Law's hold.

"What was that?" She gestured to Emmet's retreating back. Law only smirked in reply, grabbing one of the beer bottles in her other hand and opening it with his teeth. Lexi sighed, grabbing the nearest bottle opener and yanking the top free of her own drink.

"So much for that…" She muttered, deciding it would just be better to drink the rest of her time in attendance. It would make the night go so much faster that way.

* * *

Several hours and drinks later, Lexi was very much drunk. And just as it always turned out when she was drunk, she got bolder and less insecure about things. She had a little trouble standing up, but overall she was still in pretty good shape. Law himself was more than just a little tipsy, though he'd had worse nights before on the submarine.

"Let's go inside." She slurred, tossing away her fourth beer bottle before standing and pulling on Law's hand. With an amused smirk, he allowed himself to be lead inside by the brunette, who stopped as several people were gathering around a bottle on the floor. Cooper was heading over, and he spotted the two coming inside.

"Hey, rookie! Come join us!" He shuffled over, gently coaxing them towards the seated circle of partiers on the floor.

"Is it spin the bottle?" Lexi asked, nervous but a little excited at the same time. Her fuzzy thoughts weren't quite telling her how insecure she was in front of a crowd of people. Instead, somewhere in the fog, it was telling her to play because she'd never played that game before.

To her question, Cooper laughed, putting them on opposite sides of the circle from each other. "Even better! It's 7 minutes in heaven!" At his words, the rest of the circle cheered, excited to play in their collective drunken haze.

Lexi's eyes widened. She'd heard of that game before, but though her rational mind was telling her that this could end dangerously, the drunk half was wondering when the game would start.

"Anyone brave enough to start us out?" Cooper asked, and after a few seconds of no one stepping up, a blonde in a ponytail and bikini top reached over and spun the bottle, and the crowd cheered for her bravery.

The empty beer bottle spun round and round, slowing to a stop to point at another male in the group, someone she didn't recognize. With a drunken grin, he rose and the two of them went into the hall closet nearby, the rest of the group cheering the whole way.

"Alright, in the meantime, we'll play truth or dare!" Cooper announced, placing a seven minutes timer on his phone, and he asked a random member of the group the customary game question.

In the time between the 7 minutes in heaven intervals, each person played truth or dare, and thankfully Lexi wasn't picked. It was at times like this when she was glad no one knew her name, because people preferred to pick the ones they knew to participate. She was an outsider, and that was alright with her.

The first couple emerged from the closet once the alarm went off, and someone was sent to retrieve them. They came out with tousled hair and smeared red lipstick, giving a pretty clear indication of what had gone done inside the small room.

The bottle was spun again, and this time two girls were picked. They rose and went in the closet, and truth or dare started up again.

But this round, Cooper pointed at Lexi for a question. "Alright, truth or dare?" He asked, and all the eyes of the group pointed towards her.

She answered them with a wide-eyed look, not quite sure which route would be better. Thinking that half these people wouldn't remember anything the next morning anyways, she said, "Truth."

"Hmm…alright, alright…" Cooper thought silently for a moment, pondering his question. Then, with a grin, he turned back to her. "Are you…a virgin?" He asked.

The question made her pause, and she glanced away, but ultimately, she'd have to answer, otherwise these people wouldn't let her leave.

"No…" She said quietly, hoping they wouldn't hear. But they did, and they cheered her on, as if it was some accomplishment to be proud of. In reality, it meant nothing to Lexi. Wanting to forget the experience, she pointed to someone else to be next.

She glanced up at Law, hoping that maybe he'd forget about it, but he was watching her in amusement, with a smirk on his face. She looked away again, and the buzzer for the girls in the closet went off.

A guy went to retrieve them, and they came out looking as they'd gone in. They must have just talked or something.

"Ok, next one! How about…you!" He pointed to her once more, grinning with so much amusement and glee that he seemed to miss her own face widen in shock.

"Oh…ok." Nervously, but excited all at the same time, she reached for the bottle in the middle and gave it a hard spin. It went around and around again in a clockwise direction, slowly reducing in speed as the force began to dissipate.

She watched the bottle, wondering who it would land on, and it finally slowed to a stop. Following the tip of the bottle up to the person it had landed on, she froze.

It was Law.

"Ok, in the closet!" Cooper announced, and Lexi slowly rose from her seated position. Her heart was pounding in her chest as Law stood up as well. They went over to the closet, Lexi first and then Law, and another member of the group closed the door behind them, audibly locking it so they knew they couldn't leave.

It was dark inside, but the large walk-in closet had room to move around. The loud bass was muted from the shut door, but the vibrations pulsated through the walls. Feeling her heart thudding out of her chest, Lexi turned to look at Law, who watched her with amusement.

"It appears we're stuck here for seven minutes." He said vaguely, and she nodded. Deciding that standing was making her dizzy, she sat with the wall to her back. Law did the same on the other side, facing her with his hands in his lap comfortably. Though the closet was deep, it wasn't wide, and their crossed legs were mere inches away from touching at the knees.

"Umm…now what?" She asked, biting her lip as her eyes began to adjust to the darkness. Law chuckled, shifting his position to make himself more comfortable.

"According to the rules, whatever we'd like to do."

"Right…" She muttered, looking away to try to find something to talk about. Then something stuck out in her hazing fog of a memory. "What was that earlier?" She asked out of the blue.

"What was what?" He replied, confused as to what she was talking about.

"Earlier, with that guy that you pretty much scared off. What the hell was that? You never answered me."

"Lexi-ya, perhaps you shouldn't look into things so much." He said, hoping the conversation would end there. He didn't want to visualize Lexi and the guy talking anymore, and for whatever reason, in his drunken state of mind the image wouldn't go away, and it made his chest clench.

"Were you jealous?" She continued, leaning forward to try to peer into his face. He could hear a hint of hope in her voice, barely enough to detect, but just enough that he knew it was there. He smirked at the way her voice barely shook as she asked the question, then swallowed because of her nervousness. And it amused him immensely.

"You were, weren't you?" She repeated. He leaned forward as well, their faces now just inches away from each other.

"And if I was?" He breathed out, daring her to do something with the intentional low tones of his voice. Law wasn't stupid. He knew she thought he was attractive. He just wanted to see how far she would take it.

She was silent, eyes flicking between his. And after a moment of hesitation, something flashed across her eyes, and she closed the distance between their lips.

It was a simple kiss, really, nothing more. Lexi pulled back after a moment, staring at him to see his reaction. And when he didn't become angry or even laugh at her, her drunkenness was able to find some more courage somewhere deep within. Maybe it was the comfort that, most likely, neither of them would remember the events of that night the next morning. She leaned forward again, pressing their lips together, and this time Law seemed to engage.

The second kiss lasted a few seconds longer than the first, but instead of pulling away entirely, Lexi rested her forehead on his, hovering no more than an inch away from his lips. And then he was the one that kissed her, cradling her face with his hands as he pulled her closer. She gladly responded in kind, letting herself be brought over to sit on his lap, and she rested her hands on his shoulders.

He was good at this, she thought, mind reeling from how amazing it felt to be touched. She hadn't been touched, or even held like this, in a long time. And the only other person who had had done it in a forceful way, taking everything and giving nothing in return to where she felt empty. But this, this was completely different. Law completely filled her with emotions and feelings, to the point where she thought she would burst. But it was gentle, slowly becoming more and more passionate.

They both grew bolder, fueled by the large amounts of alcohol they'd consumed before. He pulled at her lower lip with his teeth, earning him a breathy moan, so small he almost didn't hear it. Their hands began to wander, hers ghosting over his covered chest, feeling the toned abs underneath, and him continuously pulling her closer by her waist. He stroked her sides up and down, sending delightful shivers up her spine. As he teased her, she unbuttoned the first two buttons on his shirt, lightly scratching his chest with her manicured nails. He growled with pleasure again, building her confidence as she attuned to his reactions. The kisses lasted longer, until Lexi found the courage to glide her tongue over his bottom lip, asking for entrance. She heard a low rumble, the sound emanating from deep in his throat, and he easily picked her up by the waist and flipped them around, pressing her against the wall.

"Law…" She moaned out, unable to say more than that as his lips captured hers in a hungry kiss. Her hands found his hair, tugging at the strands as the things he was making her feel sent sensations lower and lower. She loved the feeling of his body against hers, caging her against the wall as he kissed her with even more intensity. His tongue darted into her mouth, and she tried fighting back but he was in control and she was feeling too much pleasure to try and fight too much.

"Lexi-ya…" He muttered, breaking off the kiss to breathe, but gently guided her so she was laying face up on the floor. He positioned himself with a leg between hers, sliding it upwards until she felt a delicious friction against the spot that was throbbing more intensely with every second that passed. She moaned in pleasure, and he captured her lips once more.

"Yes, Law…" She managed to grind out when he pulled back just a little, only to focus his attention onto her exposed neck. He forced her chin up with one hand, kissing the delicate skin he found there. Every once in a while, he'd nip at her, earning a gasp from the brunette, before he licked it to reduce the sting. She raised her hips, hoping to feel more from his jeans through her panties. He chuckled, returning to her lips and kissing her deeply, his fingers tracing the material right below her breasts, and she arched her back upwards in response…

Suddenly, there were loud knocks against the door. "Time's up! I'm opening the door."

Lexi flinched from shock, her eyes wide as they heard the door unlock, akin to a deer caught in headlights. Law, on the other hand, felt only frustration at being interrupted. Seven minutes wasn't nearly enough for his liking. She pushed up against his chest gently, and he let up enough for her to sit up straight.

The door opened, flooding the darkened room with light. The two occupants had to look away from the change in brightness, and whoever had opened the door laughed at what he saw.

"Looks like you two had fun. But come on out, it's someone else's turn." With that, the guy walked away, leaving the door open. With a sigh, Law stood, buttoning his open shirt and held out a hand to hoist the brunette up. It took a moment, but she accepted it, shakily rising to her feet as she tried fixing her messy hair. Straightening the top of her dress, and tugging the hem down to cover a little more skin, she walked out of the closet. Law followed behind, his irritation still very much shown on his face.

Instead of rejoining the group of partiers on the floor, Lexi went straight to the kitchen, pulling out two of the dwindling supply of beers in the cooler. But it seemed they were both for her, as she cradled one under her elbow and cracked open the top of the second. Raising a brow, Law took two as well, deciding that Lexi's plan for the rest of the night sounded as good as any other.

* * *

For the rest of the two hours that the three attended the party, Law and Lexi opted to sit in the corner of the room and watch the crowd, deciding that they had participated more than they should have already. Brittany was off somewhere probably having another threesome, or having a couple of guys fight over her, but neither really cared. They were too caught up in their minds to care. Both kept thinking back to what happened in the closet. But their thoughts were vastly different.

Law played the events over in his mind again, knowing that what had happened was more of a fulfilling of needs than anything. At least that's how he made it sound like. There shouldn't be any other reason for feeling like he wanted to drag the brunette back into the closet and finish where they left off. And he was certainly feeling so inclined.

Lexi, on the other hand, was frustrated with herself more than anything, internally berating herself for getting attached to a man who she knew would be going back to his dimension where she would never be able to see him again. That was what made her different than Brittany. She couldn't just kiss and tell, no, her emotions had to get mixed up in everything and cause problems, like loneliness and wanting. Getting involved with him was just setting herself up to be unhappy, but she still went and kissed the bastard.

Stewing in her own stupidity, she drank the last of her sixth drink that night, hoping to forget the experience ever occurred in the first place. Maybe if it was erased from her memory she wouldn't have to worry about it ever again. And maybe this feeling that she wanted to go back in that closet would go away too.

"I need some air." She said bluntly, sighing with a small smile directed at the pirate, letting him know she wasn't mad at him per se, and left the pirate alone on the couch. He nodded, giving her the space she was silently asking for. Maybe it would make it easier on him to control these thoughts if she wasn't around anyway.

* * *

Instead of going to the backyard, she escaped to the front, sitting on the grass as some of those in attendance began to trickle back to their parked cars. The street didn't look as packed as before, indicating that the party was beginning to slowly wind down as the energy levels inside dropped. Drunk people could only party so long before passing out completely.

With a deep sigh, Lexi allowing the cooler night air to blow against her heated cheeks. The inside of the house was stifling, the air mixed with the smell of sex, drugs, and alcohol, precisely as Brittany had described it before in the car. The swirling mix of things in the air was starting to give her a headache, no thanks to her high blood alcohol level, but the outside air was starting to help her relax again.

At least, until Cooper decided to plop down beside her with a laugh.

"What's a pretty girl like you doing all alone outside?" He asked, his breath hitting her nostrils, smelling heavily of alcohol. She shrugged, tossing the beer bottle aside as it had become empty.

"Waiting for my friends to finish partying. I'd rather just go home now."

"Aww, that's no fun. You could always lay down in one of the rooms inside, take a little nap while you wait." He offered, tilting his head as he peered at her face with a grin.

She almost accepted, but the outside air felt so cool and refreshing. He seemed to know exactly what she was thinking, however, and gestured to the house.

"I could open the windows to let all the cool air in, so you wouldn't be too hot. Come on, I'll show you inside."

The sound of a nap was so appealing she nodded with excitement, standing with the help of Cooper's outstretched hand. Her eyes were already beginning to droop and her limbs felt sluggish.

"I am pretty tired." She slurred, holding her head against the rough pounding of her oncoming headache. "And I don't feel so good."

"Well, let's get you to that bed." He said, guiding her back into the house by her elbow, making a path through the hallway as they pushed through the crowd of people.

"Just down here." He said, pointing to a door further down the hall from the front lobby. She shambled along, allowing him to open the last door at the end of the hall for her as she stepped inside.

The inside was dark, save for the moonlight filtering in through the curtained window. Walking over to the bed, she ran her hand over the comforter, feeling the softness. A smile touched her face, and she turned back around to the door.

"Thank y-" She started, intent on thanking him for showing her the room, but stopped when she saw the look on his face. He licked his lips creepily, staring at her chest. Cooper then shut the door behind him and faced her.

"What's going on?" She asked in confusion, a frown marking her face. She backed up from him, the alcohol still clouding her mind and judgement.

"I just heard how you like to get a little freaky, and now I want a front row seat." The blonde said, slowly walking towards her. Her breath hitched, slowly realizing what was happening. But before she could react or move, he closed the distance between them and pushed her fully against the wall.

"No!" She tried calling out, struggling against his hands on her wrists. She tried scratching his arms, but he manhandled her easily. Placing her wrists together, he held them both with one hand, placing the other over her mouth so she couldn't call out. He forced her head upwards, running his mouth over her neck greedily. He lifted his leg between her legs to prevent her from moving them around much, and she gave a muffled cry as he sucked at the skin too hard, tears pricking her eyes.

* * *

Brittany returned not too long after Lexi left to go outside, practically collapsing into the sofa with a deep sigh of contentment. "This party sucks." She announced, spreading her arms along the back of the couch. Law raised a brow.

"And why is that?" he ventured to ask, earning him a sultry smirk from the black-haired woman.

"Because none of the guys here know his way around his own dick." She said bluntly, staring off into the crowd again. "Anyways, I say we blow this popsicle stand. Let's get Lex and leave."

"She went outside last I saw." He answered, rising with Brittany from the couch, she stretched her arms high above her head, her back popping nicely. Then, she paused, frowning suddenly as she stared across the room. Law followed her gaze, watching Lexi being ushered down the hall with a familiar blonde man glancing around suspiciously behind her, as if checking to make sure no one was watching. Law narrowed his eyes, a bad feeling growing in his stomach.

"I don't like the look of that." Brittany echoed his thoughts, and they both went to follow where the blonde was taking her.

* * *

"Let go of me!" Lexi tried crying out, but it turned out to be no more than a muffled sound under Cooper's hand. The blonde continued his attack on her neck, but slowly ventured lower to the neckline of her dress.

"No!" She struggled more, trying desperately to free herself from his hold on her, but he was much stronger and she was way too drunk. Idly, she recalled the small can of pepper spray in her purse at home, cursing to herself that she didn't have it then.

"Let's see those nice tits of yours." He breathed, uncovering her mouth to shift the material of her dress to the side, revealing her uncovered breast.

"Get off me! Help! Stop!" She cried out, but the music was too loud and she knew that no one would hear her. If anything, anyone that walked by would probably only think it was some roleplaying between partners.

Cooper's mouth grinned before finding its way to her chest, and she whimpered at the unwelcome feeling. This violation was disgusting, and she writhed underneath him, closing her eyes as the tears streamed down her face.

And then suddenly it stopped, and she felt his hands around her let go, a very loud thump following after. Without the pressure of him pushing her against the wall, she fell to her knees. A gentle arm wrapped itself around her shoulders, holding her closer.

"Hey, you're alright now." Brittany's voice soothed, helping her friend fix the front of her dress so she wasn't indecent. And then she finally opened her eyes. Before her, Law had a grip around the blonde's neck, pinning him to the wall with the darkest look she'd ever thought possible. His scowl was evident, as was the fear etched on the blonde's face.

"H-hey! Let go!" He cried, trying to kick Law away from him, but the pirate was far stronger from years of fighting much more dangerous opponents than this drunk and cowardly man.

"You deserve so much more than a beating…" He growled low, tightening his fingers around his neck. What he wouldn't give to kill him. The distinct lack of bloodshed in this world was beginning to wear at him, and he thought perhaps now would be an ideal time to start.

"Let's go, Law. We need to get Lexi home." Narrowing his eyes in irritation, it took several seconds before he reluctantly released Cooper from his hold. The blonde fell to the ground on his knees and coughed, holding onto his neck all the while.

Law turned and walked towards the door, Brittany right behind him guiding a sobbing mess of her friend with her. Then, feeling the rage at realizing what had almost happened, she stopped, urging Lexi to stay with Law, and approached Cooper once more.

"You think you're all big and tough?" She mocked, and he looked up at her. With a loud yell, Brittany brought her heeled foot right straight into his groin with all of her might, making sure to dig the top of the toes into his groin.

"Gah!" He cried out, his hands moving from his neck to his groin, and immediately dropped back to the ground, where he whimpered from the extreme pain. He didn't look so tough now.

"Hmph." She spit on his back, stepping out of the room and walked with Law and Lexi towards the front of the house. No one else in attendance seemed to realize anything was wrong. They left through the front door and started heading towards the car the next street over in silence.

This party was over.


	29. Promises, Promises

The ride home was hell, to say the least.

With a good number of cars gone from the sides of the street, it was relatively easy to make their way back to Brittany's own vehicle, though still rather slow because of a crying Lexi. Brittany whispered comforting words in her ear the whole walk over, supporting her best friend with a hand around her waist. She could feel the brunette's tears seeping into the top of her dress, Lexi's face hidden from view as she wept silently, but the black-haired woman couldn't have cared any less about having her dress ruined.

The three walked in silence, Law still angry that Brittany hadn't let him give Cooper a piece of his mind after what had transpired. Nothing less than a good beating and perhaps a few amputations would put him in a better mood. One glance at Lexi, however, made him calm down if only for awhile, for her sake, at least.

"Over here." Brittany said, the first words spoken in several minutes of empty silence, as she pointed over towards her car. Pulling a pair of keys from inside her bra, she clicked the button and the lights on the back lit up a few times. They approached and she helped ease Lexi into the back seat, Law getting in on the other side.

After helping Lexi get her seatbelt on, Brittany got into the driver's seat and started the car. The engine started up before settling into the familiar constant purr, but she didn't move to start driving. Arms on the wheel, they trembled slightly. Noticing this, Law raised a brow, staring at her frown of consternation through the rearview mirror.

"Brittany-ya?" He asked, probing her mind. She only blinked, looking down at her hands. Perhaps she hadn't heard him, so he nudged the back of her chair with his knee. "Oi." He said a little louder.

She looked up at him through the mirror, eyes wide. "Is this my fault?" She whispered.

"Why would you think that?" He asked, genuinely confused. She ran her hands under her eyes, attempting to rid them of the oncoming tears without smudging her makeup.

"She didn't want to come in the first place. None of this would have happened if I hadn't have pushed it."

"You couldn't have known." He reassured, not quite sure what he was supposed to say. Comforting upset women wasn't something he did on regular basis. "What's done is done. You can't change it now."

His rather blunt words of wisdom must have gotten through to her because Brittany, after a few moments of absorbing what he said, quickly straightened her back and let out the pent up breath she'd been holding. Composing herself back into the confident and no-nonsense Brittany he was used to seeing, she nodded silently before grabbing the gear shift and driving off into the night.

Law sat directly behind Brittany, Lexi seated on the opposite side, leaning heavily against the door without saying a word. Her inspected her with an expert medical eye, seeing no serious physical damage to her person. There was light bruising around her wrists where Cooper had pinned her to the wall, and a few red marks on her neck, but otherwise untouched. Though he suspected that her mental and emotional state would be unbalanced.

Her arms were crossed over her chest protectively, eyes shut tightly in an attempt to forget everything that had happened. Law knew otherwise, that no matter how much alcohol she consumed, she wouldn't forget what had happened. It would stick with her forever.

His anger flared up again at the marks, but there wasn't anything he could do about it right at that moment. He vowed, however, that he'd fix that problem as soon as possible.

* * *

Brittany, thankfully, hadn't had a large amount of alcohol during the party and was able to pass off driving sober all the way to Lexi's house. There were several cops out that night, but half of them were already pulled over to the side of the road, testing young adults with breathalyzers and straight lines. Law wondered why they were testing them like that, but figured it wasn't the time nor the place to ask such a question.

They got back without incident, and miraculously, Lexi had fallen asleep at some point on the way. Easing gently into the driveway, Brittany slowed to a stop and leaned back into her seat, shifting the gear into park. They sat there, not quite sure what they should do now that they'd gotten home. The black-haired woman glanced at the clock, cringing when it read almost 11:30. They hadn't stayed at the party very long, but it seemed a lifetime away already.

With a deep sigh, Brittany turned the key and the car shut off. Law unbuckled the seatbelt, something he was very unfamiliar with, and stepped out onto the gravel outside at the same time as Brittany. Deciding that her friend probably wouldn't be able to lift her, Law walked over to the other side of the car and gently opened the door, picking her up in her arms without waking the brunette. Not that much would wake her. The alcohol had knocked her out pretty thoroughly.

Unseen birds and insect chirped in the darkness, and it was still relatively warm outside, even with the sun having set for some time. The three approached the front door, and Brittany pulled out her keys again to unlock it. Inside, all the lights were out, indicating everyone was asleep. Trying to keep their steps as quiet as possible, they shut the door behind them and locked it.

"Bring her up to her room." Brittany said lowly, going first up the steps. The wood underneath the carpet quietly creaked as she put pressure on them. He followed, making sure not to hit Lexi's head against the wall as they went. When they passed by the guest room shared by Law and his men, the door opened a crack, and the heads of his two engineers peaked out into the hall.

"How was the party, Cap-" They started, but stopped when they noticed how serious Brittany's and Law's expressions were, along with an unconscious Lexi being carried by their captain.

"Go back to bed. I'll tell you tomorrow." He ordered, and they nodded silently, watching as they passed by towards Lexi's room. Sharing a concerned glance for their host's wellbeing, they quietly shut the door once more and returned to their air mattress.

Brittany opened her door and held it for Law as he stepped in, carrying Lexi over to the bed and gently setting her down on the comforter. Brittany was right behind him, tossing her purse and stuff into the corner before coming to her side.

"I'll take care of her tonight, you should get some rest." She offered. Seeing him frown, she responded in kind, glaring at Law. "I'm her friend, I'm not leaving her by herself."

He was about to respond that he was a doctor and that he may be of some use if he stayed, but she was already shoving him out the door and into the hallway outside.

"I've got it from here. See you in the morning." And with that, she shut and locked the door, a silent indicator that he wasn't welcome inside.

After a couple more seconds of staring at the white wood, he shook his head and wandered over to his crew's room, wondering how the morning would go. For now, he decided, he should probably go sleep off the rising headache.

* * *

It wasn't until close to noon the next day that Lexi woke up. Everyone else was already up and downstairs, save for Nana, who usually slept in this late anyways, and Brittany, who refused to leave Lexi's room until she knew her friend was alright. Law even tried knocking on the door once but the black-haired woman had hissed from behind the door to go away.

Law had told the engineers about what had happened, and they instantly got themselves riled up in preparation for finding the son-of-a-bitch who did this to their friend and making him pay. Law wholeheartedly agreed, but knew that they'd only cause more trouble by leaving of their own volition.

Bepo, somehow, stayed out of sight the whole morning, hiding in the guest rooms with a bowl of leftover from the night before so he wouldn't get hungry.

Brittany sat on the floor of Lexi's room, dressed in the tank top and shorts she'd stashed in her purse before the party, staring at her phone in her hands. She turned the screen this way and that, occasionally seeing her own reflection in the little device. Her makeup was smeared from not bothering to wipe it off before sleeping. Her hair was sloppily brushed up into a messy bun, just to get it out of her face. The usually-pristine looking black-haired woman glanced up at the bed when she heard a muffled groan from under the covers.

Dropping her phone on the floor, Brittany rose to her knees and edged her way over to the bed, watching her friend slowly emerge from the blankets. One green eye opened carefully, her hand rubbing the other.

"Brittany?" She asked groggily, and her friend smiled.

"Hey. How are you feeling?" She asked gently, opting to sit cross-legged on the floor, leaning back on the palms of her hands. Maybe appearing more laid-back and at ease than she really felt would help Lexi feel the same way. Maybe it would erase what happened. Maybe it could fix things. At least, that's what she hoped. However, after a few moments of bleared glances at her own room, her eyes took on a glassy look as the tears formed at the edges.

"What happened last night…wasn't a dream…was it?" The brunette asked hesitantly, staring at her friend. Her gaze willed her to tell her the truth, though Brittany surmised that she already knew what was the truth. Her smile slowly faded, and she glanced away from those green eyes.

"No…" She admitted, swallowing from not knowing what to do. "It wasn't a dream."

Lexi slowly sat up, swinging her legs over the bed, but she made no attempt to stand. She was dressed in a pair of old pajama pants and a t-shirt, Brittany having changed her out of the dress the night before so she wouldn't feel uncomfortable. They were rumpled and slightly too big, drowning her out. Her facial expression contorted into one of pain, then fear, and finally extreme sadness as the reality of what had happened sunk in.

"Brit…" She sobbed, the tears sliding down her cheeks. Brittany couldn't keep her own sorrow from showing through, and she held out her arms as Lexi slowly sank to the floor in front of her. Both women on their knees, they embraced each other tightly, their tears falling onto each others' shirts.

"I'm so sorry, Lex…" Brittany breathed out, Lexi's hair making her face itch, but she didn't bother moving it from her face. "It's all my fault…I should have been there, we shouldn't have gone to the stupid party…"

"It's not your fault." Lexi cried, trembling in the comforting arms of her best friend. Her vision was blurry, reduced to no more than a sky-blue watery blur from her walls. "You didn't know."

"It doesn't matter, everything happened because I made you go." Lexi backed out of her arms, forcing Brittany to look at her.

"Stop thinking like that. None of this was your fault. Ok?"

"Lexi…" The black-haired woman sniffed. "I-"

"Promise." She interrupted. "Promise me you won't blame yourself for this." She urged, seeing the internal struggle in her friend's eyes. After several seconds of silence, Brittany closed her eyes and nodded, pulling Lexi back into the tight hug from before.

"I promise." She whispered, wondering to herself how she could ever keep her word.

* * *

"I'll be alright, Brittany. You go home, I'm sure you're mom's worried about you." Lexi encouraged, her eyes long dried. After an hour or so of sharing their grief, the initial tears had been shed and both of them felt marginally better.

"I don't want to leave you alone." The black-haired beauty argued, her hand pausing mid-brush as she brushed out her long locks. She turned to face her brunette friend, frowning in concern. "What if you need someone there?"

Lexi gave a small smile, her way of trying to convince Brittany she was fine, even though she felt far from it. "I've got the boys here. I won't be alone."

"Yeah, but I mean what if you need the company of a girl?" She set the brush down, grabbing a hair tie and pinning up her hair so it sat on her head in a high ponytail. Straightening it out, she turned back to her friend. "I'm just trying to help, Lex."

"I know, Brittany." She reassured, handing her friend a pair of her shorts to borrow for the trip home. "Trust me, I'll have you on speed dial at all times. But really, I'll be ok."

She still didn't look too convinced, but another tiny smile from Lexi finally made her nod. "Fine. But if you so much as shed a tear with me not around, I'll come right back here and drag you away from this place and straight onto the next plane to Paris, no questions asked. Understand me?" Brittany threatened with a raised finger. Letting slip a little chuckle, Lexi nodded as well.

"I promise."

After a couple more minutes of getting ready, Brittany grabbed all her stuff and headed out the door. Lexi smiled timidly after her, quickly closing the door behind her friend's departure, locking it into place and sliding to the floor.

She curled up against the door, pulling her knees to her chest. Closing her eyes, she willed herself to sleep, or any sort of state where she wouldn't have to remember the events of the previous night.

* * *

All attention was turned to the top of the stairs, the sound of Lexi's door drawing the pirates' gazes. Law especially, was wondering what kind of state Lexi would be in upon emerging from her room the first time, but he was disappointed to see it was only Brittany.

She descended the steps, adjusting her purse on her shoulder. Rising from his seat on the couch, he met her at the bottom of the stairs, the obvious question evident as he raised a brow. Meeting his gaze, she looked away and sighed.

"I don't know how she is, so don't ask." He nodded, understanding that these things were delicate, especially when someone as smart and self-aware as Lexi was put into this situation. They could easily fake being alright, but then self-harm the next second. You just never knew.

He said nothing in response, though before she approached the front door, she pointed an accusing finger at him, demanding his attention.

"You take care of her. Promise me you'll make sure she's ok. And if I get word that something happened or she's not ok, I will kill all three of you." She swung her gaze around to include Shachi and Penguin as well, who looked on with wide eyes. "Understand me?"

The two engineers nodded emphatically, getting the message. Law on the other hand simply watched her as she lowered her finger and gave them one last pointed look. Turning, she opened the door and walked out onto the porch, closing it behind her. The last Law saw of her was as she started up her car and drove out of the driveway down the road.


	30. Steak Solves All Problems

No one really knew how to tell Nana about what had happened, so they opted not to say anything in the end. Law wasn't sure if her PTSD would affect her memory, figuring that she may not even remember at all. Still, the thought of having to break the news that her granddaughter had been sexually assaulted wasn't a pleasant one, and even Law, who'd witnessed worse things, decided it best that the older woman never knew. He would leave that decision up to Lexi herself, who still only left her room to go to the bathroom and accept meals from Bepo.

They'd learned quickly that the only person, or bear rather, allowed to interact with her at the moment was Bepo, since she refused to open the door to anyone but him. Several times, she'd asked for him to spend some time just sitting with her up there, and he was too concerned about her to refuse.

Shachi and Penguin would ask how she was doing once he came out again, but he'd only shake his head and shrug. This wasn't a satisfactory answer for the two engineers, who was worried sick about their host and friend.

"She doesn't want to talk about it." He'd respond, and that was the end of that. Law suspected that if Lexi had said something to Bepo while they were alone, he wouldn't repeat it anyways, simply out of courtesy for her. After all, Bepo was a very noble creature, a trait often times overlooked because of his sensitivity.

"Leave it be." Law input on one such occasion, drawing the attention of his subordinates.

"But, Captain, Lexi's been up there for days! What if she's not ok?" Penguin had cried in desperation. He missed his friend, especially knowing that everything wasn't alright. One stern look from Law stopped him short, however.

"Lexi-ya will come out when she is ready. Give her time." They shut up and looked away begrudgingly, knowing their leader was right. But all this worry wasn't doing them any good.

Law was having a hard time following his own advice, catching himself unconsciously gaze towards the top of the stairs, waiting to hear the gentle creak of her door open and see her walk down to greet them. Long periods of time in isolation wasn't recommended, or especially healthy for a broken mind, but he supposed there was nothing for him to do about it anyways. Lexi was strong. She'd cope with her damaged psyche as she saw fit.

He hoped before too long. Having to rely on an older woman with an even more damaged psyche for their meals night after night was extremely stressful.

And he supposed he was worried about Lexi as well. Though he would only admit that once.

But it would seem that today would be the start of things moving forward, since Law heard Lexi's footsteps approach her door upstairs. Glancing up from his position on the couch, he saw the edge of her door as it creaked open. Everyone's attention was drawn to the sound, and they watched as a very rumpled and exhausted Lexi moved to stand at the top of the stairs.

Her tired eyes surveyed the living room, slowly scanning it to rest on each person for a few seconds, before moving to the next thing. No one said anything for a long time, as Lexi just stood there and watched. Penguin moved to stand, the first one to recover.

"Lexi-" He started, but she cut him off.

"Is Nana alright?" She asked, her voice rather hoarse. The question was directed at Law, since her gaze wouldn't leave his. After a moment of thought, he nodded silently. She returned the gesture, more to reassure herself than anything, and turned around without another word.

Law feared she would simply return to her room to wallow in her own sorrow some more, but was pleased to hear the bathroom door close instead. The lock turned and the sound of the shower turning on followed a moment later. It seemed after days of not bathing, she was getting herself cleaned up a bit.

Out of the corner of his eye, Law watched as Shachi and Penguin gave gentle sighs and a shared glance. Obviously they were relieved that Lexi seemed to be feeling better, though Law's expert medical eye was doubtful she was up to her regular self quite yet.

She hadn't smiled, and he doubted it would be easy for that to happen for a little while longer.

* * *

A half hour later, the water turned off and Lexi stepped out in a towel, heading immediately to her room to change. The hot water had felt amazing against her greasy hair and oily skin, and she felt refreshed and a little bit more positive for the first time in several days. Hopefully it would help her get over this depression she'd sunk into.

Three days, that's how long she'd given herself to grieve about what had happened. Brittany had been there, metaphorically, with constant text messages asking if she was still alive and if there was anything she could do to help. Having to constantly reassure her friend that she was still breathing was almost as exhausting as the lack of sleep and continuous silent crying.

Bepo had helped as well, allowing her to cry into his thick, soft fur as he hugged her close. He even took off his boiler suit so she could curl up more into his soft belly and weep. His warm body and even breathing had helped ease her mind. During the times she did sleep, sometimes there would be nightmares of hands touching all over her body, whispering scary things in her ears. She was afraid to close her eyes, worried she'd feel violated over and over again in her sleep.

But Lexi wasn't one to pity herself, for too long at least. Three days was much too long to be completely out of it, and it was time to turn things around. She'd be damned if that smug bastard would win over her. His actions would not break her.

Changing into something comfy yet cute, then throwing on a little makeup to look more put together, she blow-dried her hair as she forced herself to take steady breaths.

In. Out. In. Out. Just focus on one things at a time. One small step at a time, and that will turn into a few more. Her mental pep talk distracted her enough to finish getting ready. Brushing out the tangled mess, she contemplated leaving it down for once. Then, always a creature of habit, grabbed a hair tie and threw it up in a ponytail. Inspecting it a moment, she noticed that the end reached further down her back than she remembered. Pleased to see it growing longer, she took one more deep breath before turning back to the door

As soon as she stepped out of her room, she was assaulted by two engineers staring at her from the top of the stairs. Her eyebrows raised, seeing their teary-eyed expressions of worry. They looked about ready to cry from either excitement, fear, sorrow, or all three.

"Umm…" She started, but was interrupted by four arms being wrapped around her small frame.

"Lexi-chan!" Two voices cried, buried somewhere in her shoulders as Shachi and Penguin squeezed her tightly. "We're so happy you're alright!"

Tensing herself up at the unexpected but only slightly unwanted closeness of the two pirates, she bared her teeth at the force of their hugs. They were a lot stronger than they looked. "Uh, t-thanks…guys." She managed to force out, the very life being constricted out of her.

"Oi, enough." Law said from downstairs, probably noticing a distressed Lexi being bear hugged by two emotional engineers. Reluctantly, they slowly let her go. It was then she noticed they'd actually lifted her off the ground from the force of their hug, as she felt her feet land once more on the carpeted floor.

With a deep breath, she regained the ability to breathe, before brushing the front of her shirt off. "Glad to see you too…" She muttered, coughing a bit from pain.

They sniffed, wiping at their noses. "We were so worried about you." Shachi said first, followed by a quick nod from Penguin.

"Yeah, we'll take down that son-of-a-bitch who did this to you!" He pounded his fist in his other hand for good measure, demonstrating that he was prepared for a fight. With a tiny smile, Lexi patted their shoulders.

"Sounds great, but I think the first thing in order is to eat some really good food." Instantly, they high-fived.

"Alright!"

Ignoring their celebration, Lexi passed by them and began to descend the stairs. Bepo stepped out from the kitchen, smiling widely upon seeing Lexi coming downstairs.

"Hi Lexi!" He called, and Lexi waved timidly.

"Finally decided to come down?" Law questioned, raising a brow at her. She rolled her eyes, thankful that he didn't mention the party or that night at all. At least he wouldn't make her deal with her problems when she would rather just distract herself for the time being.

"Well, I swear I could hear those two's stomach growling from all the way up there, so I decided in order to spare you guys the horrors of starving, we can go out and eat something." She tried sounding as jovial and sarcastic as she could, but saw the recognition flash in the pirate captain's eyes as he figured she was avoiding anything to do with the subject at hand.

The engineers, on the other hand, were simply oblivious and sped down the stairs at yet another mention of food. They both had one hand on the front door, looking expectantly at her.

"We're ready to go!" They shouted, and she chuckled a little.

"Alright, let me get my purse." She turned back around and went to grab her bag from her room, already feeling a bit better. Perhaps having the pirates around was a better thing than she would have thought.

* * *

"Can we go to that place we did before?" Shachi questioned from the back seat of the truck. Glancing back in the rearview mirror, she spotted the two pirates in the back practically drooling over the thought of food, and she grinned a tiny bit.

"Even better. Do you guys have steakhouses where you're from?" She questioned Law.

"We do have restaurants and eating establishments, you know. We're not completely primitive." He jabbed, thinking that perhaps she viewed them as neanderthals compared to all of the technology her world seemed to boast. She only nodded, her eyes locked on the road.

"Well, I didn't end up spending all of my money Nana gave me, so I figured we would treat ourselves for once. So, Longhorn Steakhouse it is!"

* * *

"Hi, table for four?" The hostess asked, watched as Lexi and the three pirates walked in. Lexi nodded and the woman took out four menus from a holder on the wall. They waited as she seemed to look for an available table on her board, then she turned and gestured them over. "Right this way."

They followed the woman, gazing around at the other patrons of the restaurant. Shachi and Penguin, instead, were eyeing the rather large portions of food at every table, anticipating their own meals.

A short trek to the back of the building later, the woman showed them to an empty table, cutlery and napkins preset in each seat. "Will this be alright for you tonight?"

"Yes, thank you." Lexi responded, taking up the seat by the wall. The others filed in turn: Law directly next to Lexi and the engineers facing the two of them. Law was surprised Lexi didn't glare in his direction when he smirked at her, hoping to annoy her just a little. When she only continued to place her purse on the back of her seat, he sighed inaudibly. So much for getting on her nerves that night.

A man approached a moment later, dressed in the black apron of a server, holding a little notepad and pencil.

"How are you folks tonight? My name is Cameron, I'll be your server this evening. Can I start you off with some drinks? We have Coke products, tea, coffee, tap and draft…" He trailed off, waiting for Lexi to start them off since she looked to be the only one with any knowledge of beverages available in her world.

"I'll have a coke." She said, turning her head to Law, indicating he was next. Glancing at her, he turned back to the server.

"I will have one as well." The man nodded and wrote that on his notepad, turning to the other two at the table. They shared a glance, nodding in unison.

"Us too!"

Cameron nodded, looking back up with a smile. "I'll have these out to you in just a moment." Then he turned and scurried off towards the kitchen to put in their order, leaving the table to themselves. Lexi opted to open the menu and look at what options there were. She hadn't been to a steakhouse in awhile and so she wasn't quite sure what she wanted. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the others do the same. For a moment, the only noise was the murmur of people talking at tables nearby. But that quickly changed.

"What is a coke, anyways?" Penguin questioned, putting down the menu and turning towards Lexi with a tilt of his head. She shook hers in exasperation.

"Why would you order something if you don't even know what it is?"

"Well, it must be good, because you got one." Shachi supplied. She couldn't really argue with that, so she simply shrugged, opening her menu up again.

"It's soda. You guys have heard of soda, right?" With much more clarity than before, they nodded in understanding. Lexi rolled her eyes again, silently thankful she wouldn't have to explain what soda was. They all returned to the menus, searching for an entree they'd like.

Cameron came back at that moment, a tray of four drinks in one hand. "Here you are, four cokes." He placed each one in front of the respective person, before tucking the tray under the same arm and pulling out the notepad. "Now, has everyone decided what they'd like?"

Like before, Lexi started them off. "I'll have a 6oz. sirloin, cooked medium, with a baked potato, everything on it." She closed her menu proudly, happy that she wouldn't have to be asked countless questions on her order. Cameron wrote all that down and took her menu from her.

The others ordered what they thought would be good, meaning just Law, who ordered like a normal person. As soon as it came to Shachi and Penguin, however, things got a little complicated.

"I'll have…wait, no…hold on, where'd it go…Ah! Yeah, I'll get a 12oz. ribeye, and I want it medium well. Wait! No, actually make it medium rare." Shachi thumbed through the pages, looking for the other part of his order. "Then, I'll have an order of macaroni and cheese, french fried, a baked potato, and onion rings! Oh, and also coleslaw!"

Before Cameron could say anything, Penguin was already starting on his.

"Ok, I'd like a 12oz. t-bone steak, and that'll be…well done." He finally decided after a long pause. "And then I'll have two orders of french fries, two orders of coleslaw, and-"

"Guys!" Lexi interrupted, saving the frazzled-looking server from writing all these things down on his pretty small notepad. She was willing to bet he was running out of room. "You can have the steaks but only one other thing. Got it?" She scolded, giving them a look. They had the grace to look ashamed.

"Hmm…coleslaw." Shachi decided, giving him menu to Cameron who spent more time than necessary scratching out everything else he'd written on the order.

"French fries." Penguin answered, also handing over his menu with a pout. Cameron quickly took the menus and hurried off without saying anything else, most likely afraid they'd start adding to their orders again if he didn't leave quick enough.

"Seriously?" Lexi asked in exasperation once the server left.

"What? We're hungry." Shachi said, tying the napkin around his neck in anticipation of the food already. Sighing deeply, Lexi leaned her cheek on her hand, an elbow balanced on the edge of the table.

"Maybe we should have gone to McDonalds after all…" She muttered, loud enough for only Law to hear. He smirked, hopeful that perhaps his engineers would annoy Lexi for him.

* * *

By the time they'd eaten and left the restaurant, Lexi was hiding her face under her hands and keeping her head low, hoping no one she recognized would see her.

"Keep walking." She scolded, digging her keys out from her purse while still keeping an eye on the stuffed engineers.

"Lexi-chan, that place was so good! Let's go again sometime!"

She sighed, hoping to just go home and forget the day ever happened. Unfortunately, it seemed that Law wouldn't let that happen. He leaned in with a smirk.

"Quite an eventful dinner, don't you think?" His sarcastic comment made her glare up at him.

Eventful, indeed.

Before they'd even gotten their food, Shachi and Penguin had tasted Coca-Cola for the first time, announcing loudly that it was like nothing they'd ever tasted before. Lexi had noticed right off the bat the angry glances and unamused whispers of the people seated near to them. Though, at this point, there wasn't much she could do to reign in the personalities of the pirates.

Then, once the food had actually arrived, they ate as they normally did. Which meant as they were talking, causing some piece of food to escape as they chewed. One such piece seemed to fly out of Penguin's mouth and directly onto Lexi's potato, which she had been aiming her fork at to take another bite. The piece of meat wedged itself directly in the center, and she paused midway through the air, staring at the offending piece of food that now contaminated her dinner. While Shachi laughed at him for it, which set off another round of bickering, Lexi silently pushed the potato away from the rest of her steak, hoping that no more fly-away from Penguin's mouth would come near her. It didn't help that she could almost feel Law laughing at her from beside her.

Thankfully, Lexi had come prepared for an expensive dinner. Once Cameron brought the table the check, making sure to avoid talk or eye contact with the engineers entirely, Lexi took a look at the bill and her eyes widened at first. But then she remembered that she could indeed pay for it, as well as the tip, which would be more than the normal 15 percent since the server  _did_  have to put up with the pirates all night.

After they paid, they were out the door as quick as possible, hoping that no one recognized her face.

"Yeah, not planning to do this again in the future. Besides, we've gotta figure a way to get you guys home, remember?" She reminded, walking a little faster in hopes of ending the conversation.

Law allowed her to widen the distance between them, his mind suddenly occupied with thoughts of home. He was surprised to realize that he was a little sad at the idea of leaving Lexi's world. There was so much to learn and explore, but rationally, he did have to return to the rest of his crew soon.

He just wondered if he'd ever forget about Lexi when he did. She was such an interesting and mysterious creature, after all. It would be a shame if he couldn't study her further.


	31. Sorry To Cut Things Short

Law lay awake in the guest bedroom, staring up at the ceiling. As usual, his insomnia had left him exhausted but unable to fall asleep even in the warm and comfy bedspread. Penguin and Shachi's snoring weren't helping either, but at least the volume was at a tolerable level that night.

His eyes followed the random, textured pattern of the white ceiling, seeing indistinguishable shapes and strange ridges all over. The emptiness of the house, along with the unbearable silence, permeated only by his engineers, left the pirate to dwell on only his thoughts. And that night in particular, his mind was at greater unrest.

It bothered him how much he was hesitant to return to his world, where everything he knew and needed to do were waiting for him. His crew was there, along with that unfulfilled promise, and the lure of unfathomable riches on Raftel. His name was feared, he had power unimaginable in this world…

Why was he so reluctant?

Angrily, he sighed, closing his eyes slowly to the fact that he himself didn't want to admit to the answer. It was that Lexi, and her intriguing story. Nothing and everything about her made sense. How had she dealt with these tragedies from her past and present with such determination and pride? Where did her motivation come from? In a world as seemingly boring as hers, what was there to look forward to?

At the same time he understood why she was so cautious. She'd never encountered death up close, day in and day out, as he had. She'd never been faced with the difficult choices only those who had lived through torture and pain and anguish could know, as he had. The illusion of safety and ease of life was certainly a pull. But her interest in his world was all too real. It was as if she envied the life he paved for himself and his crew, and he could understand the thrill of adventure of the rush of excitement as well.

Yet, he thought that when he went back to his world, he'd feel like something was missing. He'd miss seeing the easily-annoyed brunette bark at his engineers to clean up their mess or show him something he'd never seen before.

He would miss Lexi, as irritating as that thought may be. It was the truth, one he wanted to deny.

Though, she seemed to have promise as a medical professional. She was quick to learn, and easy to teach. Her willingness to see things a different way and her attention to detail were all vital in a medic. Perhaps…

When they found the way home, he'd have to convince her to join them. How he was going to accomplish that was the only unknown. But, Law was confident in his ability to persuade, even manipulate when need be. He would find a way to convince Lexi to go with him, he was sure of that.

* * *

"Law…" She muttered, running her hand gently up his uncovered back. The hot breath at her neck was paralyzing, making her eyelids flutter closed as his mouth slowly made its way lower, and lower still, until his lips grazed the fabric of her bra, sending a thrill up her spine and straight into her nipples. Then, as if knowing what it was she wanted, he chuckled and brought his face back up to her, staring with half-lidded eyes into hers.

"Tell me what you want." He whispered, once again covering her mouth in a gentle kiss. Lexi couldn't hold back the strangled moan as she was barred the sensations she so desperately craved through her body, and she squirmed under him in the jostled bed covers, the heat of her exposed skin making a sheen of sweat all over her body, in an attempt to convince him to continue. Talking such dirty things was embarrassing.

"Please, just do it." She whined, leaning forwards to kiss him again. To her dismay, he pushed himself up off of her just enough so she couldn't reach, and he smirked down at her pout.

"Patience, Lexi-ya…" His amused expression wasn't doing her any good, and so she decided to take matters into her own hands, lifting her hips upwards into his crotch, earning her a fraction of the pleasure she'd been wanting, and eliciting a groan from the tattooed pirate. His hands clenched the sheets, and his eyes snapped shut at her warmth rubbing against the fabric of his pants.

"How long are you gonna make me wait?" She breathed out, sending all the lust she was feeling through her gaze alone, and he seemed to receive it, because with a wolfish grin, indicating to her that she'd just awakened some sort of instinct within the dangerous man above her, he grabbed the front of her bra and ripped the material right off of her chest, capturing her lips in another heated-

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

Lexi's eyes flew open, her heart racing a million miles a minute, searching frantically around her for whatever it was making the awful noise. Then, as the few seconds went by after coming aware of her surroundings, she reached over and turned off her alarm on her nightstand, sighing as she slumped back into the messed-up covers.

"God dammit…" She murmured to herself, rubbing her hands over her face as her dream began to take form in her mind.

That was the second night in a row she'd been plagued by such…naughty dreams. The nightmares had began to subside a little, but in their place were either nights of being unable to sleep at all, or reenactments of her subconscious fantasies…or whatever they were. In contrast to her nightmares of cold hands touching her body, Law's hands all over her felt…welcome, and wanted. Which she couldn't really comprehend.

Apparently, her subconscious  _really_  wanted to have a half-naked pirate captain hovering about her, planting kisses down her neck, whispering dark and dirty things in her ears-

"Stop." She said aloud, feeling the heat on her face as the blush spread against her skin. God, it wasn't like she hadn't had sexual dreams before. Actually, something like that was pretty normal every once in awhile. But the frequency at which they were happening, and because it was always about  _him_ , at that, was slightly disturbing and creepy.

There was a soft knock on the wood of her door. "Lexi?" Bepo's voice called from the hall.

"What is it?" She answered back, covering her eyes with her arm as she tried getting rid of her blush. It wouldn't do to have Law come in and see her all hot and heavy, especially after she'd just envisioned him doing such things…

"Penguin and Shachi offered to make breakfast. It'll be done in a few minutes. I just wanted to let you know." The bear said, and Lexi's mood instantly shifted.

"I'll be down in a sec." She said, instantly swinging her legs over the side of the bed and going to her drawers. If the state of the kitchen was as bad as last time when she went downstairs, there'd be hell to pay for already ruining the start of her day.

* * *

_*The Next Day*_

Monday. A day she'd always hated, but now so more than ever. Even as she showered and got ready for the day, that queasy feeling wouldn't go away.

It was the day she'd told herself she needed to go back to the university, back to classes, and back into the place where there was a possibility of bumping into Cooper. The thought filled her with such dread.

Brittany had called with a concerned tone in her voice before she was on her way out.

 _"_ _Lex? Are you sure you want to go back so soon? Maybe you could take a few more days off."_  She tried convincing her. But the brunette only shook her head, grabbing her keys from her purse and heading towards her bedroom door.

"I can't just sit at home and let my studies pile up. I'll fall so behind and fail classes. I have to go, even if I don't want to."

And that was the end of that. Brittany recognized that stubborn tone in Lexi's voice, knowing that she was set in her decision, good or bad, and there was no changing her mind. Her friend sighed over the line.

_"_ _Alright, if you say so."_

Lexi pretended that the day was just like any normal one. Or at least she tried to. Those knots in her stomach still wouldn't go away, even as she walked into the medical anatomy hall to pick a seat.

Every deep voice she heard, she glanced around like Cooper was standing right beside her, ready to pounce with his hands out towards her. But that was ridiculous. No such thing was ever going to happen, and she forced herself to focus on her notes. Thankfully, before too long the professor shuffled in and everyone quieted down. Learning was something Lexi was good at, and so she was able to calm down a bit as his boring drone filled her ears.

Brittany arrived late to class, sitting beside her friend as she plopped in the seat and opened her textbook.

"I told the dean what happened." The black-haired beauty muttered, staring at the board and writing down the words. Immediately, Lexi's head snapped up.

 _"_ _What?"_  She quipped as quietly as she could. It wouldn't do to draw attention to herself. "Brittany-" She started, but Brittany only grinned.

"I told her that Cooper threw a party that was against the rules. Turns out you can't have alcohol in a frat house that close to the campus. And there's no way I'm letting him getting away with doing that to you."

"I wish you would have asked me first." The brunette sighed, and Brittany gave her a pointed look.

"For what? You want justice. I want justice. This is the best way to do it, since I know you don't want the cops involved or anything. Besides, you can't keep stalking around the campus like there's someone following you everywhere. You won't be able to focus on anything that way."

As much as Lexi didn't like the whole situation going on, she had to admit Brittany was right. She hoped some kind of punishment came from all of this, maybe it would help her unending paranoia.

"The dean's still gotta start an investigation into it, but I'm sure it won't take more than a few weeks or so." Brittany reassured, returning her focus to the front board.

* * *

It turns out, the dean only needed a few days to determine that Brittany's claim of sexual assault against her friend was true. After getting a few eye-witness accounts from the party, she called Cooper into the administration office and promptly expelled him from the university. Lexi only learned about it from passing gossip between the sports students, on her way to get lunch the next week.

The incident even appeared in the local newspaper, though thankfully they hadn't released her name to the media. Lexi was glad that Brittany had enough sense to ask the dean to withhold that information from anyone, knowing how much it would hurt the brunette to see her name plastered all over the news.

It felt really good to have the justice she deserved, and this huge weight felt like it had been lifted from her shoulder. Lexi didn't have to worry about him coming after her again. The knots didn't come around as often as before, and Lexi was able to start to catch up with the assignments she'd missed in her absence. All in all, the two weeks after the party had occurred were looking up for her.

Things were getting better, finally.

* * *

_*A Basement Somewhere*_

If it hadn't been for his connections at the university, he never would have known that it was her that fucking football player had sexually assaulted. Seeing the article in the newspaper, he seethed.

"Argh!" He yelled, crumbling up the paper and throwing at the wall, watching as it bounced harmlessly against the concrete and fell to the floor. The brunette, chained to the wooden chair in the middle of the room, whimpered at his unexpected outburst of anger. Ignoring her, he stomped over to the dvd player set up on the table and turned off the music,

"It's all wrong!" He screamed, grabbing the first available thing at hand, a glass angel figurine of his mother's, and chucked that at the wall as well, watching in morbid satisfaction as it shattered into a thousand pieces against the wall with a clash. The girl shrieked again, and this time he set his attention on her.

Walking around until he was directly in front of her, he pulled out and held up the sharp knife in his hand, making sure she saw it. Her crying and whimpering, and muffled pleas to let her go, only made him laugh.

"Looks like I'm gonna have to cut our time together short." He said simply, raising the knife above his head without emotion and bringing it down into her torso.

She struggled and screamed the first few times he stabbed her, but she quickly grew still as the slick red blood oozed to the ground. The metallic scent filled the air, warming the space around him. Stabbing a couple more times, just to feel the satisfaction, he stood and wiped the bloody knife onto his pants.

Staring down at her body, he went to grab the keys for the shackles on the table, unlocking her from the chair. Her body slumped onto the floor, and he grabbed a black plastic trash bag and his duct tape.

Then, as an afterthought, he picked up the crumpled newspaper on the way out the door.


	32. Clothes Snatcher

"I'm not quite sure what you expect to find here. We've been looking for like an hour, and there's no sign of how to get you guys back home." Lexi said, leaning against the nearest tree and crossing her arms. The extreme heat of the afternoon, coupled with the high humidity in the air, had her sweating profusely in her skinny jeans and short-sleeved t-shirt. If only she'd had the good sense to wear a tank top, maybe she wouldn't feel so miserable.

Law and the two engineers weren't in any better shape, judging by the stooped-over posture and heavy breathing. Law outwardly looked normal, though he kept taking off his hat and smoothing down his hair, which was slick with sweat. Not only that, but he still wore his hoodie. She wondered how he could wear that thing on a daily basis and not die of heat-stroke.

"I'm not sure myself, though there has to be something that gives us a clue." Law said, staring up at the entrance to the cave they'd come from, watching as the tiny stream trickled down the side and into the river beside it. It cut close, but didn't exactly go through the tunnel, just around it.

They'd been wandering around since before lunch, poking at stray rocks and scanning the entrance bit by bit. As the morning became the afternoon and the sun rose higher in the sky, so had the temperature, making their search all that more unpleasant.

"Well, I'm pretty sure if there was something here, we'd have found it by now." Lexi sighed, pushing off the tree and hopping over the rocks in the river to the other side. Law followed after her, trailed by the exhausted engineers, too tired to complain or say a word.

"You're sure this is where you guys came from?" She reiterated, watching Law inspect the inside mouth of the cave for the eighth time that day. He peered at the rock, slowly nodding.

"Yes, I remember feeling the rock when we came out."

"Hmm…" Lexi hummed, eyes lazily drifting over the cave again. The inside was dark further in, but the light of the sun illuminated the first fifty or so feet inside. They examined the sides, but still found nothing.

"I say give it a rest for today. Who knows, maybe there'll be something tomorrow or the next day?" Lexi tried convincing the captain, who still wanted to keep searching in and around the cave yet again. "We've been at this for a while now, we need a break and obviously we're not finding anything this way."

Law was silent, staring at the cave, before nodding silently. Though he wanted to search some more, he realized that Lexi was right. There were no clues as to how they'd gotten here, and the longer he looked the more time they were wasting. She knew it, and he knew it too.

"Fine." He supplied, following her and the others outside of the cave and over the river once more. They made their way back to the forest path towards where Lexi's truck was parked. The walk back seemed shorter than when they'd found there way here. After exiting the forest, they walked through a grassy field towards the main road, spotting her truck as soon as they stepped out of the coverage.

"God, it's so hot." Lexi complained, pulling several times at her collar to try getting more circulation to her chest. Law agreed, but was beaten out by the engineers.

"Is it possible for a human to melt? Because I feel like that's what I'm doing." Penguin panted out.

"Just put me in the freezer when we get back, Lexi-chan." Behind him was Shachi, in as bad a shape as his friend.

"I'm definitely taking a cold shower when we get home. The air conditioner has been acting up lately, so it won't be exactly pleasant getting back to the house." Lexi sighed again as they reached the truck, and she pulled the key out of her pocket before unlocking it. They all climbed in and she started up the engine. With one more glance towards the tree line, Lexi turned the truck back towards home and sped off down the road.

* * *

"Ah, so good to be back." Shachi exclaimed, stepping into the foyer of the house. The other followed behind him, though not nearly with as much excitement. While it was a bit cooler inside, the air was nowhere near the temperature they would have liked.

"If you really want to stay cool, you could go down to the basement. It's the coldest place in the house." Lexi suggested nonchalantly. Without another word, they hurried off to the downstairs. "Don't touch anything while you're down there!" She shouted after them, hoping that nothing would be caught on fire or destroyed.

Law smirked at Lexi, making her roll her eyes in his direction. Tossing her purse over the side of the stairs banister, she trekked upstairs and into her room. Law went up a moment later, opening the door to the guest bedroom him and his men shared. Bepo was inside taking a nap on his back. When he opened the door, the bear cracked open an eye.

"Oh, you're back. Did you find anything at the cave?" He asked, and Law shook his head, moving to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Nothing. There's no sign of anything there, but I'm sure that was where we came from."

"I thought so too, but maybe you guys can look another day?"

"Yes, we will have to return and search the area again." Law mused, his thoughts beginning to wander back to the cave. It was then that the sweat began to dry against his back, making his shirt cling to his skin. Grimacing at the feeling, Law sighed and stood once more, heading towards the door.

But before he could even step out into the hallway, he heard the bathroom door shut and lock, meaning Lexi had beat him to it. Returning to the bedroom, he decided he'd lay down to wait for her to get out.

* * *

Eventually, he heard the shower turn off, and the thumping of Lexi's feet as she walked around on the tiles. He closed his eyes again, waiting to hear the door open after awhile. And he kept waiting. Until he frowned, thinking that it had been way too long since she had finished taking a shower. With a low growl, because he still felt sticky and unclean from being out in the heat himself, he swung himself out of the bed and stood, making his way into the hallway.

Knocking on the door, he stood outside with his arms crossed. "Lexi-ya?"

"Huh? What?" She called from inside.

"Are you nearly finished?"

"Yeah, almost." She said, ending the conversation there. Rolling his eyes, Law knocked a few more times, with a little more force than before.

"You've been in there for an hour." He said, only guessing since he hadn't kept track of the time.

"No, like 45 minutes! I'll be out soon." She said, and he sighed once more.

"How long is soon?" He questioned.

"I don't know, I've still gotta do a few things. Not long."

This was getting ridiculous, he thought. "If you don't come out within the next minute, I'm coming in."

"No you won't." She retorted confidently, continuing to do whatever it was she was doing in there. Clinks and thunks were all he could really hear, so it was hard to tell what she was doing. Either way, it didn't sound like she was getting dressed, which would make what he was about to do extremely perverse if she was, but he took a shot in the dark.

The lock on his side of the door was easily turned, as it had a slot for something to undo it, and he quickly twisted it with his fingernail before turning the handle and opening the door. Lexi shouted in surprise on the other side, gaping up at him like he was a madman.

"Time's up." He said, a grin marking his face. Lexi, who'd been in the middle of doing her makeup, hair still wet, held a mascara brush in her hand. It seemed he'd interrupted her while she tried applying it, since there was a large black mark right besides her eye. Thankfully she'd already gotten dressed.

"Law! Get out!" She backed up a bit, though after a second thought tried pushing him out towards the hallway again, but he was a lot stronger than her and simply kept going in.

"You've had your turn, now it's mine." He stated, closing the door behind him.

"What the hell?" Lexi gasped in exasperation, and she capped her mascara before trying to open the door again. He held it shut. "What is wrong with you? Seriously, what kind of house guests are you people?" She tried provoking. He simply smirked.

"If you don't want to get out, fine. That's up to you." He said, and she frowned.

"Umm…" Ignoring her confused and still angry look, he walked past her towards the shower, where he turned on the water. Then, still not acknowledging her, he grabbed his hoodie and removed it, setting it on the counter beside him.

Unbeknownst to him, though he suspected it would happen, Lexi's face went beet red at what he was doing. Her eyes took in the black ink that adorned his back and shoulders, and she was willing to bet that if he turned around there'd be some pretty large tattoos on his chest as well. She swallowed, suddenly unable to look away. Then, remembering that she was supposed to be angry at him, she shook her head before glaring once more.

"What are you doing!? Law!" He looked behind his shoulder, smirking wider.

"If you want to stay that's your choice, I already told you. But I'm taking my shower." Law turned then, displaying the tattoos she knew would be there, stalking closer to her. "With or without you here."

Her mortified expression returned, and she was forced to look up at him as his taller height became apparent. She forced herself not to look at his perfectly toned chest, adorned with his black tattoos while he was up this close and staring into her face. Her breathing seemed to stop, and besides the rushing water in the shower, there wasn't any other sound except his breathing.

She said nothing, simply staring up at him with an unreadable expression. His smirk didn't go away, and he was quite intrigued as to what she would choose. He was almost positive she'd simply turn around and leave the little room that didn't give either of them much space, but he wanted to make sure. There was a part of her that undoubtedly found itself attracted to him, if the first part of that party was anything to go by.

She had surprised him before. Maybe she'd do it again. And he saw it, that little spark in her eye when she had decided on something. And then it was gone.

"Alright. Fine." She said, grabbing her stuff from the counter and turning towards the door. He raised a brow, slightly disappointed that she hadn't challenged him like he'd wanted her to, though he supposed she wasn't that bold of a person. She opened the bathroom door and closed it behind her, and he heard her bedroom door close a moment later.

Taking off the rest of his clothes, Law stepped into the shower and closed the curtain.

* * *

About half an hour later, Law turned off the water before drawing back the curtain and stepping onto the rug below. The whole room was still hot from the steam, and the mirror above the sink was foggy. Grabbing a clean white towel from the shelf, Law ran the towel over his head until his hair was messy and slightly drier than before. Then, he tied it around his waist, securing it and wiping off some of the fog from the mirror.

It was then that he felt something was wrong. His eyes narrowed, and he stared at his reflection as he tried to think what it was that was making him feel like-

He stopped, eyes shifting to the side as he stared at the empty sink counter. Well, it wasn't empty, there was a bar of soap in the corner, and a toothbrush holder. But, nonetheless empty.

An empty counter. Where his clothes should have been.

Despite the situation he was in, he couldn't help but chuckle to himself. It appeared that Law had underestimated the crafty mind of a certain brunette. "Always full of surprises." He muttered, shaking his head.

Turning towards the door, he opened it and stepped into the hallway before barging straight into Lexi's room without knocking.

* * *

Lexi's gaze swung to the wall between her room and the bathroom when she heard the water stop. A smile on her face, she returned to reading the book that she couldn't even think of the name of at that moment. She was too focused on what Law's reaction would be when he found out she'd stolen his clothes. Oh well, that's what he got for barging in on her while she was using the bathroom.

Of course, she'd kindly placed his clothes back in the guest bedroom for him to find, though not in an obvious place. Unless he looked really hard, which she doubted he would, he wouldn't find them unless Lexi told him where they were. And she wanted to watch him have to beg for where they were. Or just get angry. That would be amusing too.

The door to the bathroom opened while she was still in her thoughts, but she jumped when her own door opened as well, and a half-naked Law strode in, still dripping water from the shower.

"If you wanted to see me without clothes on you should have just asked." He started, an amused smirk on his face. Unfazed by his comment, Lexi simply returned to her book with a pleased expression.

"You wish. And I could say the same to you, walking in on me like that."

"Where have you put them?" He asked, cutting immediately to the point. Feeling like pretending to read now was pointless, she set the book beside her on the bed and looked up at him.

"You can't get something for nothing." She watched as he rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"And what is it that you want in exchange for my clothes."

"Ah, I don't have your clothes. But I know where they are." She smiled pleasantly, trying to prolong this experience as long as possible. He must have figured this out, since he only shook his head.

"Fine. What do you want for me, in exchange for telling me where my clothes are?" He made sure to talk slower, just to try to annoy her, but she just kept smiling.

"An apology, for forcing me out of the bathroom and for getting on my nerves all the time."

"No."

Lexi shrugged her shoulders, reaching to pick up her book once more. "Well, then I guess you'll have to get used to wearing that towel."

"You're acting like a child." Law sighed, and Lexi only laughed.

"Don't I know it. Good luck trying to find your clothes."

Finding her smug attitude a little annoying, he glared at her and left the room, shutting the door behind him as he went in search of his missing clothes.

* * *

Wherever she hid them, it was a good hiding spot since, after ten minutes of searching his room and the bathroom, he couldn't find them. Deciding that she was probably lying about not having his clothes, or he would actually have to find out from her where they were, he returned to her room a short time later.

"No luck? That's a shame." She said without sympathy. Raising a brow, he narrowed his eyes and moved to her closet, throwing open the doors and peering inside.

"They're not in there." She called as he rifled through several of her hanging shirts. There was no sign of his clothes, and he growled low in his throat. This was getting ridiculous now.

"Tell me where they are."

"Are you ready to apologize yet?"

When he looked back at her, she was smiling again. But he suddenly had a thought that would give him the upper hand once more, and he smirked back. Closing the closet, he stalked closer to her.

"I'm waiting." She said cockily, sitting up and crossing her arms.

He gazed cooly down at her, staring at her silently, before stepping forwards and leaning in, closing the distance between their lips.

She sat with her legs dangling over the side of the bed, and he wedged himself between them, resting his arms on either side of her thighs. This meant she couldn't lean backwards far enough to escape him, even if she wanted to. Hearing her gasp, he snuck an arm behind her back to keep her close. She brought her hands up to his chest, resting them there, probably not sure whether she wanted to push him away or simply feel his skin.

"Mmph." He heard her muffled attempt to tell him to stop, which quickly died in her throat when he tilted his head, deepening the kiss. One hand moved up to cradle her face, his thumb gently brushing over her cheek.

They separated for air. Lexi rested her forehead against Law's, panting to try to gain her breath back. Her eyes were still closed but Law watched her curiously, seeing her cheeks tinted red from either embarrassment or just the heat of the moment. Either way, he was satisfied that he'd effectively made his point.

Lexi didn't open her eyes until she heard the pirate chuckle. Seeing him staring at her with a smirk, he leaned forward again, his lips inches from hers.

"Will that apology suffice?" He muttered, staring into her eyes.

And it was then that Lexi realized she'd played straight into his hands, though her brain was having a hard time trying to figure out why that was such a bad thing, considering the results. Still breathing hard, she stared up at the cunning man in front of her and sighed.

"Under your mattress." She whispered, watching as he smirked wider and straightened up. He trailed his hand gently from her back as he stepped away, making her shiver. Leaving her be, he left the room to go put on his clothes. Lexi, on the other hand, simply fell back onto the mattress and stared up at the ceiling.

Unconsciously, she brought her hand up to her lips, still feeling the heat on her face. The kiss brought up such mixed emotions. God, did it feel really good. But the fleeting possibility of a long-lasting relationship with that man was slim to zilch, and she wasn't really betting on the idea of them staying forever in her didn't belong here, and she knew that.

Which made it all the harder to enjoy having him close to her, because she knew that as time went on, eventually she'd end up alone again.


	33. You Have Your Uses

_*Several Days Later*_

"You  _really_  didn't have to come with me." Lexi sighed, pushing the shopping cart down the freezer aisle of the supermarket. Law walked beside her with his hands in his pokets, grinning.

"I was intrigued by Shachi-ya and Penguin-ya's description of this grocery store, so naturally I wanted to investigate it myself. This was the perfect opportunity."

She snorted, stopping in front of the frozen pizzas. "Right. The perfect opportunity to annoy me. Thanks." She rolled her eyes, taking hold of the handle to the freezer door, picking out two boxes of pizza and putting them in the cart.

What she didn't tell him, however, was that deep down she was immensely grateful the pirate had offered to join her. Seeing as Lexi never knew where she could possibly bump into Cooper, it was nerve-wracking and stressful, and simply conjuring up what might happen if she did actually run into him somewhere by herself was paralyzing. A shiver ran down her spine, but thanks to the cold of the freezer, she could play it off as being sold.

"I'm sure a part of you enjoys it." He retorted, and she laughed.

"Oh, yes. Insult me more. I love the emotional pain." Law raised a brow at the sarcasm dripping in her voice, but only shook his head.

They stopped by several other aisles, Law looking all around him at the fascinating things that Lexi's world had that his didn't. The engineers had perhaps played up the marvel of it all, but to see the differences in their worlds was still interesting to him.

Deciding that what they had in the cart would be enough for the week, Lexi directed them to the nearest check out station, settling herself behind an older gentleman who was in the middle of placing boxes of cat litter onto the conveyor belt.

Waiting patiently for the cashier to ring him up, she began unloading the cart onto the black belt, placing a divider between their purchases.

"Will you go get a couple of sodas? I'm thirsty. You can grab one too if you want." She pointed to a small mini fridge on the aisle over, and Law gave one more glance before nodding, heading off in that direction.

The older man took his purchases and walked away. The cashier, a redheaded girl who looked only a few years older than herself, turned her attention back over to Lexi, her expression lax and slightly annoyed.

"Did you find everything you were looking for?"

"Yeah, thanks." Taking the hint that she didn't really want to talk any further than that, Lexi didn't extend on the conversation and allowed the woman to ring up her items. Her eyes wandering, Lexi spotted a pile of coupons previous customers had used, which made her remember.

"Oh, I think we got a coupon in the mail. It was buy one get one free for the canned goods." She said, digging in her purse for the slip of paper. "One sec. I swear I brought it with me."

"I can't apply a coupon unless you have it with you." Her bored tone droned, continuing to scan items across the laser. Sighing, Lexi leaned against the wall. Then, she spotted a stack of the very same coupons she'd mentioned, perfectly aligned and unused.

"Well, what about those ones right there? Aren't they for customers?" Above the stack read a sign that said 'Take us!'

The redhead, Marissa, judging by her name tag, glanced over at the sign and sighed. "It's only for premium members, those with rewards cards. Do you have one?"

"No." She admitted, and the redhead shrugged.

"Then you can't use them."

"Oh." Lexi pursed her lips, surveying what she was purchasing. Half of her cart had been canned food products from the same company the coupon was for. If her cashier had been any nicer, maybe she could have been allowed to use one.

"Here." Lexi turned and accepted the coke bottle Law offered her. He held a pepsi in his other hand, obviously intended for him. He gave her a mischievous grin before turning to the cashier. It seemed he'd heard the conversation between the two women and decided to intervene.

"It's a shame we aren't members,  _little sister_. Those coupons definitely would have helped us out a lot." Noticing Law for the first time, the redhead blushed. She hesitated in scanning one of the cans, staring at the handsome man that stood before her. Lexi watched as Law gave his best convincing stare, coupled with his signature smirk, which was equal parts seductive and hard edged, to Marissa. It was rather genius of him to call her his relative, implying that they had no relationship together and was thoroughly attracted in the woman before him. Lexi rolled her eyes, thinking that if he topped it off with a wink he couldn't be any more obvious with what he was trying to do.

All the same, Marissa bit her lip before reaching to the side and taking a few off the counter and scanning them across the register. Lexi watched the screen displaying the price and watched with satisfaction as nearly a third of the amount had been taken off, reducing their purchase to less than $100.

"$82.19 is your total." She finished, blushing and tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Lexi took out Nana's debit card and swiped it across, typing in the pin and approving the sale. A moment later, a long receipt printed from behind the register and Marissa ripped it. She grabbed a pen from beside it, writing something on the bottom.

"If you go online and complete this survey you can win more coupons or be drawn in a monthly raffle. Just type in the number at the bottom of your receipt to be entered into the drawing."

With a winning smile, she handed the receipt to Law, and he nodded graciously. Taking up the bags and placing them in the cart, Lexi cleared her throat and walked with Law towards the exit.

Outside was still dark, seeing as Lexi wanted to get shopping over with so she didn't have to wake up early the next morning to get it done, and she squinted in the darkness to find her truck.

"Give me that receipt." She said, reaching for the piece of paper still in his hand. Complying, she grabbed it and looked at what Marissa had written on the bottom. She grinned. "Yup, she totally gave you her number,  _big brother."_  She mocked, to which Law raised a brow.

"At least you got your coupons." He grinned.

"Hmm. Yeah, I guess you're useful for some things." She admitted, finally spotting her truck and directing them towards it.

* * *

Cooper stuffed his hands in his letterman jacket pockets, scowling at the sidewalk beneath his feet. It was late at night, and he couldn't find anything else to do but wander the park near to his best friend's house. Well, ex-bestfriend now. Apparently the aftermath of that stupid party he'd thrown was scaring all of his friends away. Not wanting to be associated with someone who'd been accused of almost raping a girl, they wouldn't even talk to him.

"Damn posers…" He muttered, shaking his head. "They weren't ever real friends anyways. Who needs 'em?"

Of course, his father was all too willing to protect his football star of a son from having too damaged a reputation, and hired the best lawyer their money could afford in case the girl in question decided to press charges. There hadn't been any word of her intentions yet, but his father was prepared for anything.

That meant being lectured about the things he should or shouldn't do while out in public for the time being, which Cooper wasn't too thrilled about. Keep your head low. Don't make any other scenes. If questioned, simply ignore them and leave the area immediately.

"I don't need so many fucking rules." He growled, kicking a loose stone out of his path. The sidewalk edged a wide playground for children, the other side a densely wooded area where hiking trails snaked in and out of the area. One could get lost if they weren't familiar with it already.

Cooper took out his phone once more, turning on the screen on the off chance he'd gotten a text from anyone in the past two minutes since he last looked. Nothing. Not even Jessica, or Abby, or the new girl he'd been warming up to, Talia. Sighing, he placed the electronic back in his jacket pocket.

Somewhere in the woods beside him, he heard a branch snap, and Cooper swung his gaze in that direction. He stared into the trees, the darkness making it impossible to distinguish anything, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Ignoring it, he walked on.

"Creepy…" He muttered, shaking his head. He didn't have any real destination in mind. Just some way to take his mind off of his life totally fucking him over. If only Steven hadn't convinced him to mix alcohol with whatever the hell kind of drug he'd offered. Sure, it felt awesome at the time, but look how much it had ruined his career now.

_Creek…_

The blonde's eyes shifted back into the woods, hearing yet another long sound of wood or…something he couldn't quite place. Crows or some other kind of birds cawed in the distance, and another answered back. The wind howling through the trees brushed leaves up against each other, creating a sort of shimmering background noise. But there wasn't anything out of the ordinary now…

Just to be sure, Cooper looked behind him towards the path he'd already walked, but saw no one around. Zipping up the jacket a little higher, he shifted in his coat. He was just letting his own head get a hold of him now. Jeez, he was turning into a pansy.

* * *

A pair of eyes followed the man as he walked the path, but the figure made sure to stay out of sight, or at least far enough away that he couldn't be pinpointed out of the darkness. When the blonde had turned to check his surrounding, he simply neglected to see the figure dressed all in black at the edge of the playground. Waiting until he turned back around, the figure began to approach silently once more.

He could feel his heart beating rapidly. Oh, how he couldn't wait to-no, best to savor the moment as it happened. No spoiling it for himself, he thought, grinning for what was to come.

Farther the man walked, deeper into the wooded forest and away from the main road, and from prying eyes. It wouldn't do for his screams to be heard or for some unexpected passersby to come upon the body too early. No, that wouldn't do. Things had to be exactly right.

Oh, but they'd be different from the start. He'd never killed a man before. Only mutilated the soft flesh of females, and he wondered how different it would be, feeling the life leave a man's body rather than a woman's. Did the light in their eyes die out slower? Would they react just as deliciously to his knife plunging into their chest?

No getting distracted now, he told himself, focusing once more on the blonde man now disappearing behind some trees onto one of the trails. Looking around to make sure no one else was around, the figure followed just as silently but at a faster pace than before, making headway towards his unsuspecting victim.

He rounded the corner slowly, making sure not to gain too quickly, peering through a gap in the trees to find the blonde man sitting on a rock, staring at his phone. Swallowing back his excitement, he took a deep breath to steady himself, slowly creeping around the corner and towards the seated man.

Yards turned into feet. From the pounding of his chest, he could have sworn that the man would have been able to hear it. Feet turned turned into a foot, but still the man didn't turn around. Still, he simply flicked through whatever was on his phone.

Adjusting his grip on the knife in his gloved hand, the figure licked his lips, raising the knife above his head with a wide smile.

And brought it down in one fell swoop, straight into the man's upper shoulder.

"AAAH!" The young man screamed, curling in on himself from the pain and surprise. He fell to his knees in front of the stone, finally facing his attacker. The fear in his eyes stopped him from screaming out somehow. The figure stalked closer, holding the blade up threateningly.

"S-stop! Wait!" He cried out in vain, trying to scramble backwards in the dirt. He simply laughed, eyes wide with adrenaline and glee. A smile twisted with insanity was all that greeted the young man, and he whimpered when his attacker chuckled.

"Please, don't stop screaming." He encouraged. Then, he pounced forward, the blade slashing forwards into the blonde's arms, held up high to try blocking the attack. It cut through the skin cleanly and with little resistance. But, the man flailed, scratching his attacker's arm with his nail, drawing blood and irritating the figure. Scowling, he pushed his arms aside and simply continued his attack.

"Aaaahh, argh!" His victim cried, again and again as the knife came down over and over. Until the cries stopped altogether, replaced soon by a gurgling sound at the back of his throat.

Too weak to hold up his arms, he simply squirmed all over trying to escape the onslaught of stabs to his chest, Then, after more time passed and his chest became riddled with more wounds, he no longer cried out at all, and the squirming stopped altogether.

Panting heavily, the figure finally slowed his attack. The blood rushing past his ears began to subside, and his hearing returned to him. He grinned in satisfaction, sitting back on his legs as the exhaustion overtook him.

He looked at his arm, seeing the long scratch marked with blood, and figured that he'd have to do something about that. The last thing he wanted was to be connected to this man's death through DNA. Not that they'd find him in any criminal database, but he wanted no risks taken.

"Son!?" A small voice called, and the figure turned his attention to the phone laying beside his body. The screen brightly lit, it showed a call in progress with the contact named 'Father.' "Oh God, Cooper!?  _Answer me this instant!"_

Picking himself up from Cooper's body, the figure approached the phone and gently picked it up, careful not to get any blood or his fingerprints on it. He gazed at the screen.

Over the line, he could hear heavy breathing and what sounded like choked back sobs. "S-son! Tell me you're alright!"

The lone figure could hear the barely restrained fear and terror in the man's voice, and a wide smile spread across his face. Chuckling darkly, he ended the call and tossed it as hard as he could against the ground, cracking the glass screen. Then, not wanting it to be found so easily. He picked it up again and tossed it as far as he could into the thick underbrush surrounding the path.

He returned to the body, the pool of blood quickly spreading around him. Squatting down, he stared into the terror that was forever etched into Cooper's face.

"This is what you get for touching her." He whispered, bringing the knife towards the body's hands. " _She's mine."_


	34. Human Nature

"Ah, finally finished studying…" Lexi moaned out, flopping onto the couch beside Nana. The older woman glanced at her granddaughter, smiling widely.

"Oh, you get so serious with those studies of yours. Take a break for awhile, dear. We don't want you catching another sickness like last time." Stretching out and propping her feet up on the coffee table, Lexi leaned back in the couch.

"Nana, I'm pretty sure studying has nothing to do with getting sick."

"Well, you never know." She responded, nodding resolutely to herself as if reminding her that she was right. Law watched the exchange from the love seat set opposite the room, smirking at the old woman's habit of always putting her two cents in, whether it made sense or not. Lexi only smiled and shook her head, used to Nana's ways by now.

It was after dinner the next evening, and Lexi had finished up her studying for the night. There weren't any big tests coming up, and she'd finished most of the work she needed to caught up on, so there wasn't so much stress involved in this go around.

Everyone was lounging lethargically around the living room, watching the latest episode of family feud. Bepo lay nearest to his Captain, always the faithful follower and ready at any moment to defend his friend.

Tonight was a good night for Nana, who must have felt as sleepy as the rest of them, because she watched the show in relative peace.

For a good twenty minutes they were content to simply relax in comfortable silence, watching the program without distraction. Before too long, Nana began yawning and snoozing while sitting on the couch. Lexi noticed this after awhile and nudged her side.

"Nana, let's get you to bed, alright?"

"That sounds like a good idea. But you wake me if any Nazis infiltrate the camp, you hear me?" She scolded, standing with the assistance of the brunette. She gave a little salute.

"I sure will, Nana. Now, come on." Muffling a yawn of her own, Lexi led her grandmother into the master bedroom, shutting the door to allow for some privacy.

Helping her out of her normal clothes, Lexi retrieved her pajamas from the dresser, and she began gently assisting Nana step into the pants. Next she started threading her arms through the shirt sleeves, and Lexi moved to put the shirt above her head and through the collar, since it was difficult for her to reach up sometimes.

"Oh, Lexi. Sometimes I wonder if this war will ever end. Can't our countries just agree to live and let live?" Nana sighed suddenly, making Lexi hesitate. "It makes me wonder if your generation can ever know times of peace."

Nana sounded so…tired. So frustrated and worried, but too worn out to really sound was then that Lexi really took in the frailty of her grandmother. Her skin was wrinkled and sagging more and more as time passed. The bags under her eyes more pronounced, more defined. While the fire of the Rose family stubbornness still burned in her eyes, she could see a sort of plea for help. Some kind of end to all the torment that she must go through on a daily basis. A torment that no one could truly rescue her from.

Unable to find something to say initially, Lexi simply finished pulling the shirt down over Nana's chest, pulling her into a tight hug. "I'm sure it'll end soon, Nana. Wars can't last forever."

"Oh, I hope so, Lexi. It's about time I come home." She muttered, straightening up and popping her back with a grimace. Lexi released Nana, letting her wander over to the bed and slide under the covers. The sting of oncoming tears pricked at her eyes, but she made sure not to let Nana know that.

"Goodnight, Lexi." She called, smiling as the brunette helped cover her with the comforter.

Giving a wavering smile, she reached over to the lamp. "Night, Nana." With a click, the light went out and plunged the room in darkness. Making her way in the blackness back to the door, she opened it and stepped out into the living room, closing it behind her as quietly as possible.

She turned, stopping when she saw the look on Law's face. Brow fixed downwards, he looked confused and a little shocked. Even Bepo looked on with interest. Frowning, she directed her attention to the tv, which Law was watching intensely. The volume was low so as not to wake Nana, but loud enough to hear when she was standing right near the tv.

_"…_ _officials say that they have positively ID'd the victim found in the woods as 24-year-old Cooper Langley of Jefferson County."_

Lexi's blood froze, eyes wide as her attacker's picture was displayed on the news report. Penguin and Shachi, who were laying on the floor, watched the two of them quizzically. They did not know the significance of the name or picture.

"What's going-"

"Shh!" She shushed, waving at them to stop talking. They did.

_"_ _Police say that a jogger found the body this afternoon while on a run down Pikeview Trailhead, calling 911 immediately after the gruesome discovery. Langley's father, Micheal Langley, reported his son missing this morning, after reportedly receiving a call from his son as the attack occurred._

_"_ _It's still early into the investigation, but initial reports indicate that Langley was stabbed multiple time with a sharp object. When investigators arrived on scene, they also noted that the victim's hands had been removed. His cell phone was found broken nearby. The murder weapon has not been found."_

"Oh my god…" She muttered, covering her mouth with her hand. The tv showed the entrance into the woods, the trail where the scene took place, blocked off by police tape as emergency vehicles and personnel wandered the area. "That's…that's a few blocks from where you and I were last night…" She finished, staring at the screen and missing Law's sharp glance in her direction.

_"_ _Police are still investigating who could be behind this heinous crime, but details of this case seem to closely correlate to those of an ongoing string of murders in the surrounding counties. We'll have more details as the investigation proceeds."_

The news report switched back to that of the regular newscasters in their headquarters, but Lexi couldn't hear them talking. She was too stunned by what she'd seen and heard.

 _'_ _Cooper's…dead? He was murdered?'_  She thought, a mix of emotions swirling in her head. She was relieved, there wouldn't be any chance of running into him anymore. He could no longer hurt her. The other half, the half she was partially disgusted by, wondered what the scene of the crime had looked like. The medically inclined side of her thought about an autopsy and how she'd always wanted to watch one…

…what was wrong with her?

"Lexi-ya? Can you hear me?" He called softly, gaining her attention.

"There's a murderer in our area…" She said softly, not quite sure how to take that information in.

A loud buzzing sound interrupted their conversation, and Lexi saw her phone vibrating on the coffee table where she'd left it before. Picking it up, she swiped the screen and held it up to her ear. "Hello?" She asked, knowing who it would be.

 _"_ _Did you see the news? Did you see what happened?"_ Brittany's frantic voice demanded. She sounded breathless, as if she'd just run a marathon.

"Yeah." She answered without emotion.

_"_ _Don't get me wrong, he kind of deserved it, maybe…that was pretty brutal I guess, but holy shit there's a murderer in our county."_

"Yeah.." She trailed off, staring off into space. Her mind was all jumbled, and it was difficult to form cohesive thoughts. The back of her head felt light, the same feeling before a headache came on. "Listen, I gotta go."

She really wasn't up for talking to Brittany at that moment, and the black-haired beauty seemed to realize this.

_"_ _Just…be careful going anywhere, ok? Take one of those exchange students with you if you have to. I don't want you going out alone."_

"You too." Lexi said, ending the call. Tossing her phone on the couch, she slumped over on the couch.

"What's going on?" Shachi asked the question for the two of them, Penguin glancing between Lexi and their captain for some indication as to what was happening. All they knew was that some guy was killed and it affected their host somehow.

"Cooper was the guy at the party." She explained, covering her eyes with her arms.

They were silent, then jumped and waved their hands defensively. "Woah, ok, we said we'd kill him for you but we didn't do it! We promise!" Penguin supplied, and Shachi nodded frantically in agreement. Lexi chuckled a little.

"I know, guys. Calm down." They reluctantly sat back down on the floor. Law was being uncharacteristically quiet, having taken a seat once more in the love seat, staring into space. "What's on your mind, Law?"

Her words cut through his trance, and his eyes flickered up to her face. "Simply observing how your world reacts to unexpected death."

"How do you mean?" Lexi cocked her head in confusion, looking back at the weary pirate captain. He shrugged.

"You act as though death never happens," He started gesturing to the news now displaying the weather on the tv, "whereas in mine, death is so common it is registered more as a daily event, rather than a tragedy."

"Hmm. Interesting." She answered, switching her gaze back to the tv. "So you come from a world of murderers, huh? Does that mean you're one too?"

Slowly, Law dipped his head down, shading his eyes under the brim of his hat and blocking Lexi from analyzing his emotions. Simply from the way his jaw tensed, it was obvious he was at least a bit miffed at her question.

"I wouldn't expect you to understand the actions we are forced to take to survive. Call it what you may. I feel no regret for my actions."

She didn't know quite where her bitterness came from, or why she was pushing them away, but anger bubbled up somewhere inside her, and it was directed towards the captain. She couldn't quite place the reasoning why, and it was frustrating to the extreme. But right now, after hearing this news and having no way to take action or really  _do_  anything about it left her boiling in her spot.

"I'm going to bed." She announced, suddenly rising from the couch without looking at anyone and making her way to the stairs. Shachi and Penguin said their half-hearted 'goodnights' but she didn't reply.

Before allowing herself to even think about what was going on, she first got ready for bed and lay comfortably in the sheets.

Something about her situation brought her back to a psychology class she took in her first year at the university. A conversation they'd had. The professor, on the first day, had waited until everyone had shuffled in, then paused, searching the faces of the crowd.

* * *

_"_ _Can any of you tell me," She began once the class had settled, "what the basis of human nature is?"_

_Lexi remembered sitting in several minutes of silence, waiting for someone to be brave enough to answer. The professor, a thin woman no taller than five and a half feet, had that expression that indicated she would wait as long as it took for a response. Finally, one brave soul raised his hand, and she nodded for him to speak._

_"_ _Uh…procreation?" He guessed, and she smiled._

_"_ _Not quite, but that is definitely a strong instinct ingrained into the thread-work of humanity." She rambled, then surveyed the room again. "Any other guesses?"_

_No one answered, simply waited for her to tell them. She folded her hands behind her back and began to pace the front of the room._

_"_ _The basis of human nature…" She began, garnering everyone's attention. "…is death." She concluded, confusing many of the students._

_"_ _I can see many of you are confused by this statement." She observed, her small smile still in place. "Allow me to explain. Within each and every one of you in this room, lies in wait the makings of a murderer."_

_Thick, heavy silence filled the room, with dozens of eyes staring at the woman as if she'd suggested turtles could fly._

_"_ _Have you ever wondered how such innocent looking people turn out to be the most heinous of killers? How did they come to be that way? Why could we not tell what they were before they were allowed to harm others? That, my dear students, is because the capability of becoming one yourself is ingrained within every single one of you._

_"_ _The mind is a delicate organ, and the only one that truly sets us apart from the rest of us. Psychology is the study of behavior, all of which stems from the brain, and in order to hope to understand anything about it, we must look both at the best and worst outcomes._

_"_ _Our upbringing, culture, society, past experiences, our environment, and even how we look all affect how our brain shapes and develops. Your thoughts and feelings," She pointed to a random student in the class, "are vastly different from hers." She swung her finger to the opposite side of the room, indicating yet another student. "Or his. Or the person right beside you. None of you have experienced the exact same things in life._

_"_ _Most killers who we get the chance to interview describe their turning point as not a single event, but a period of time in which their mind was shaped to accept that what they would do in the future was acceptable. Abuse, neglect, a series of tragic events that built up over time. It could be anything. But it leaves them with thoughts and urges that others who have not shared their pain could never imagine possible._

_"_ _Those who choose to exercise these urges become the killers, while the rest of us are left to condemn them for their actions, as right as it may be to do so. And while they took a large part in choosing to commit those crimes, something had to make them that way. Something had to give them that push to pick up the knife or cock the pistol. So my question for you is…just because you've not experienced those specific set of circumstances, are you any different from those you fear?"_

* * *

Law simply watched her disappear upstairs to her room. He detected a hint of suspicion, or…distrust in her voice, something that he hadn't heard from her since the first few days of their arrival.

Her question held no objective answer. Truly, in his world, everyone was a murderer, in one way or another. Whether by intention or simple ignorance. The constant back and forth of shifting central powers made death commonplace, enough to indicate to the rest of the world how it would function. By taking the lives of those who refused to bend to another's laws.

Law was no fool. To believe that him and his men were any better, ethically speaking, than the marines he so despised was idiocy. There were several instances in which he could think of where his actions had been questionable. Still, defending their lives and taking others in retaliation was nearly the only way to survive, and if that was what it took, then so be it.

Law knew what he was, and what he was capable of. That didn't exactly give Lexi the right to question his integrity. Had their roles been switched, he was willing to bet she would turn out as he had, or die in the process. Although her world was very much different from his own, she didn't understand. She never could.


	35. Resisting Temptation

It was becoming increasingly harder to try to pretend that everything was alright. At least, it was for Lexi. None of the others seemed to be that affected by the news of a murderer nearby, though as Law had explained previously, they were probably used to death like that by now. No surprise there, now that she really thought about it. They were pirates after all.

All the same, having to still go about her days at the university was so different. The atmosphere on campus had changed drastically in the days following the news report. Most noticeable was the increase in security. Guards stood at most doorways into the school, stoic expressions as they watched the students go to and from class.

The students themselves were pensive. Conversations in the main hall were quieter, less pronounced. People constantly glanced over their shoulders, as if they were continuously being watched. Some had even stopped attending for the time being, as each of her classes had a higher absence rate than before.

Professors had cautioned students to never walk alone, to use the buddy system, as juvenile as the term may seem. Though it appeared that everyone was following that plan eagerly. Girls were seldom seen alone, though the guys, predictably, held less faith in its usefulness.

Brittany had tagged along with Lexi every day in the week following, making sure she was safe while at the same time taking comfort in having her best friend around. They didn't even talk too much while they were together, instead trading reassuring smiles and sticking a little closer if some guy eyed them a little too suspiciously.

Apparently the football team was taking Cooper's murder with mixed emotions. Though he was probably a friend to most of them, in the aftermath of the sexual assault claims against him not too many were very eager to defend or talk about him.

Lexi also worried about what the police may think. Being so close time wise from the party, she was afraid they would turn to her as a possible suspect, or even the pirates she was housing. That would be rather difficult to explain, seeing as they had no papers or passports verifying them as 'exchange students.' If people started questioning too hard into the matter, she'd have some serious problems to deal with.

Things had been…tense, with the pirates after that. Shachi and Penguin not so much, though in the past week they'd come across as more subdued. Whether this was due to the murder report itself or the palpable tension in the air of the Roe household, she couldn't quite tell. Bepo was just as adorable and neutral as ever, quite content that his captain was still alright. The bear would do anything to protect his friends, and perhaps her if the situation was right, should the need arise, and that was that.

Speaking of the captain, she'd tried her best to avoid him when she could. Not that that was very often, considering her hesitation to leave the house alone and having nothing to do to keep her occupied for long periods of time. After seeing the news, Lexi had been reminded of how dangerous people could be, and the pirates were no exception. Law especially. Sure, they'd been relatively calm and nonviolent, but who knew when that would stop? They were still capable of cruel acts like what had happened with Cooper. And yet there she was thinking back to that kiss in her room, with Law in nothing but a towel, making her heart beat a bit faster. In addition to that, what she could remember of that party was a nice, hot make out session with a certain man, feeling things she hadn't since her first and only boyfriend from a few years ago, and that didn't help matters either.

 _'_ _What were you thinking? Stupid…'_  She thought, mentally kicking herself for her previous actions. Oh, if only sober Lexi had been the one in charge of her decision making that night. Things probably wouldn't have ended up so bleak.

She shouldn't be getting so close to them, most of all their captain. He was cunning, and she could see how that could factor into being manipulative. Perhaps that had been his plan all along, to manipulate her in the end, though how he was going about it still was unclear to the brunette. If he was, she couldn't tell.

And even if he wasn't, getting more attached to the man wouldn't do her any good either. They'd somehow find a way home, leaving Lexi all alone again with a broken heart that she had only made worse for herself. None of the outcomes in those scenarios sounded appealing…but still, her mind betrayed her. Still, she couldn't help but want his company even when she was simply digger her grave deeper.

Law had seemed to pick up her inner turmoil after about the second day, seeing her avoid eye contact with him whenever she could. He'd given her confused looks, frowning as he tried determining what was up, though she always excused herself to her room before he could ask what was the matter. She really didn't have an answer that wouldn't make her sound like some schoolgirl with a crush or an overly worried weakling. Because she couldn't picture herself being either of those things.

Those gray eyes always sought after her own green ones once he'd realized she wasn't feeling quite the same. Which only brought her thoughts back to that party, to that closet, where she could barely determine their color in the darkened interior, piercing into hers as she leaned closer…

God dammit…

Was she really that desperate for physical attention? Lexi had never described herself as needy or eager for pleasure. She was still young. Granted, it wasn't like she had no experience with the more sexual aspects of a relationship. There were only few instances of it anyway, nothing too memorable. But to feel the need, especially with Law of all people, to take things a little further, and further still, after just that one taste was a bit extreme for her. She wasn't used to experiencing that passion from inside herself towards another person. It was difficult to tell if it was a normal reaction.

Not for the first time since their arrival, she wished that they had never found their way to her world at all, thinking that perhaps things would have been a lot less complicated that way.

Shaking her head, she grinned inadvertently. Alongside that thought, she was also very grateful they had. For reasons she didn't really want to give a name to.

* * *

Law decided that enough was enough. He couldn't quite explain what was going on with their host, seeing as she wasn't too eager to be around him since hearing about the murder of her attacker. It was downright confusing, seeing as he couldn't think of anything he'd done to deserve such a withdrawn treatment.

Perhaps it was that kiss from before? But that didn't make sense, considering she'd appeared to be fine when they'd visited the grocery store that night. Her normal behavior had returned not long after that day, which left him still wondering what could possibly be going through her head to make her avoid him to this extent.

Staring up at the stairs from his position on the couch, he listened as the woman in question closed her bedroom door behind her, turning in for the night. Bepo had gone to sleep earlier on, leaving only Law and his two engineers still awake, sitting on the couch across from him.

Eyes not leaving the railing at the top of the stairs, he pondered how he could fix this situation. Law found he didn't much enjoy having a host who was constantly on edge around him, seeing as things were rather boring and tense. It wasn't going to make things easier when trying to find a way home.

Sighing, because he was tired of dwelling on the topic, knowing it would only cause him to be unable to sleep that night, he rose from the couch and stood, making his way over to the stairs.

"Are you going to sleep, Captain?" Shachi questioned, his and Penguin's eyes following after their leader.

Too tired and preoccupied to explain that he wasn't actually headed to the guest bedroom, he nodded. Accepting their goodnights and mentioning that they shouldn't stay up much later, he trudged up the steps to the upstairs hallway. Reaching the top, he bypassed the door to the bedroom his crew slept in and headed straight for Lexi's door.

Knocking on the wood, he waited for her to answer.

"What?" She called from within.

"We need to talk." He replied quietly, eyes intent on the doorknob. He heard her sigh deeply.

"Can't this wait until tomorrow?" He could almost picture the scrunched up face as her hands rubbed her forehead in frustration, a habit he'd noticed she tended to do. The mental image made him grin.

"No."

There was a pause, and she sighed again, before he heard the shuffling of fabric, most likely the comforter on her bed. Her feet padded to the door, and it opened a moment later, revealing a tired-looking Lexi.

Wearing a pair of sleep shorts and an oversized t-shirt with some sort of strange red 'S' symbol on the front, she glanced up at him standing in front of the door. Not a moment after looking up at his face, she glanced away, walking back inside her room but leaving the door open behind her, a silent invitation for him to come in.

Doing so, he closed the door gently behind him, and she took up the chair in front of her desk, leaning an elbow on the wood and supporting her chin with one hand.

"What is it?" She asked sleepily, eyes half closed already.

He crossed his arms, leaning against her bed opposite of her. "Why are you avoiding me?" He cut straight to the point, not bothering to ask the other, less-direct questions he had on his mind.

"Who says I am?" She tilted her head, hoping to play his suspicion off as him simply overthinking. Too bad for her, he wasn't that stupid, and she wasn't that great a liar anyways.

"I find your suggestion that I haven't noticed you actively keeping your distance from my men and myself insulting." He raised a brow at her attempt to deflect his question.

Just as he was so used to seeing, he rubbed her forehead with a hand, shielding her eyes from view. "I don't really want to have this discussion right now…" She murmured. Her exhaustion was evident in her quiet voice.

"I don't care." He replied, watching her glance up at his sharp and unsympathetic response.

"Can't you just leave me alone?"

He shook his head. "I believe I've done so for the entirety of this week. My patience is running thin." He warned, a note of anger in his tone.

"What do you even care anyways?" She bitterly questioned, turning her face away and crossing her arms in similar fashion to his. Rolling his eyes, he shifted his feet.

"Considering we are residing here for the time being, anything that concerns you also concerns me, especially if it affects my crew as well."

"You are so frustrating." She scowled, unable to sit still any longer and watch him passively piss her off even more. If he was going to be doing this so late at night and getting under her skin, she wanted a little more movement. "I don't understand your reasoning."

"And I don't understand  _your_  reasoning for keeping me and my crew at an arm's length. So please, enlighten me." He smirked, making her frown angrily. Who was he to come barging in her room at…11:00 at night, as one glance at the clock confirmed, asking all these stupid questions?

"God, why do I even put up with you?"

"Because you have no other choice." He unhelpfully reminded her. "But I'd rather know why you've been so aloof than listen to your thoughts on my tolerability." He returned to his original question, hoping she'd stop looping their conversation with pointless questions, even if he so loved her amusing reactions.

"And if I told you it was none of your business?" Her eyes narrowed, but he simply continued to smirk.

"You're just going to stand there until I answer you, aren't you?" The corners of his lips widening slightly, he nodded, looking rather pleased with himself.

She groaned, finally turning to him. If he was going to be such a blunt ass about things, than she'd give him blunt right back. "You know why? Because you don't belong here in my world. Not only that, but you're probably a murderer too, and now that I think about it I was being stupid to even let you guys stay here. I should have just called the cops on you when I had the chance."

Law's grin widened. "And yet you didn't. So what does that say about you exactly?"

Her eyes narrowed, and she scowled, her nose scrunching up in anger. She'd already had the same thoughts on several occasions but it was a lot more frustrating when someone else was voicing the questioned her about it. "That can still change, you know. And I guess that makes me an idiot, for letting you guys get this close. I shouldn't never have tried to like you guys in the first place."

Law noticed she was sort of pacing, not in regular cycles but in random, zigzagging patterns across her room. It seemed she couldn't keep still, and that only made this all the more amusing for him. Lexi, on the other hand, wasn't too happy with his expression.

"Oh? Have you grown attached? Developed some petty infatuation?" He purred, latching onto to her admission of letting them close to her. Whether she had intended to mention it or not he wasn't quite sure. Probably the latter, seeing as she narrowed her eyes a fraction, probably upset with herself for blurting out that bit of information.

"No." She denied almost immediately, crossing her arms once more and leaning away, a sure sign of her deception. He chuckled, pushing off of the bed and stepping closer to her. Now that he really looked, he noticed just how much of her legs were exposed beneath those shorts. He hadn't really noticed until then, taking in the messy bun atop her head that framed her face in a pleasing way.

"Is that why you've been so keen to get away from me? Embarrassed by your feelings?" He taunted. Surprisingly, she was able to stop the blush from rising to her cheeks.

"I don't have feelings for you, asshole." She scoffed.

"Hmm…I don't quite believe you." He pushed, still closing the distance between them. Noticing this, Lexi took a step back, warily watching him pursue.

"You're being ridiculous. Now get out of my room, I'm tired." She tried threatening, looking away as her words still didn't stop his advance. She retreated further, wondering why she still felt an exciting thrill beneath the growing anger and irritation she felt towards the man. Somehow, in this highly unnerving situation, she still felt that thrill of danger…endearing, if that were possible. Her brain took that moment to recall the tattoos he'd had on his chest, but she threw those thoughts out as soon as they'd appeared, trying to remain angry at him.

He kept pushing, until she felt her back hit the wall besides her closet as he approached. She tried to sidestep out of his way, but he got there first, trapping her in place with a hand on either side of her arm. There was nowhere to go, nowhere to look except his piercing gray eyes, boring into hers.

It was strange, how even being held up against a wall by this man didn't cause her anxiety to spike to unimaginable levels. Well, it still did, but not in the way she'd thought it would. Deep in her chest, her heart beat faster and leapt into her throat, but she wasn't terrified of him. Afraid, perhaps. Afraid of what this man could make her do and say and feel. But not terror. Not like she'd felt being pinned up to the wall from her hands by Cooper that night at the party, feeling the unwanted touches of his dirty fingers on her. That had been full-blown panic and terror.

This was more like a buzz, a static that left her anticipating what he would do next. And she couldn't for the life of her figure out why that was.

Realizing they'd been silent, standing there like that for several silent moments, Lexi blinked as she remembered where she was. Staring up at Law, she tried hiding the involuntary swallow as she tried clearing her throat.

"Leave." She said with a low and even voice, trying in vain to even out her rapid breathing. Law's eyes, half-lidded, examined her face with intrigue as she struggled to contain her body's reaction to him.

"Make me." He breathed back, the amusement all too evident in his smirk and teasing gaze. Law, on his part, was enjoying himself immensely, watching her squirm beneath him. She was so easy to rile up, to catch between a rock and a hard place when he wanted to. His initial reason for coming up to talk with her partially forgotten, now all he could really focus on was her pleasing reactions, and how she looked rather attractive in her sleeping clothes.

The subtle bite of her lower lip as she tried thinking of a way out of this, the way her hands clenched on either side of her thighs, her eyes flicking back and forth between his as she struggled to find something to say, these were all things he noticed.

He also noticed how close her lips were to his, suddenly feeling the urge to feel them with his own, and get another taste.

But what he failed to see was how his body slowly leaned forward of its own accord, closing the distance between their faces. At least, until he automatically closed his eyes for the kiss, feeling her soft lips responding to his own as he traversed the rest of the space between them.

Lexi, too stunned at first to respond, but not making any move to push him away after his demand to do something about his close proximity for herself, quickly closed her own eyes and brought her hands up to his chest, her grip tightening in the fabric of his hoodie.

Chuckling at her sudden acceptance of his actions, Law tilted his head, bringing one hand up to gently cradle underneath her chin as he did so. His lips slowly moving on hers in an unhurried but insistent kiss, he pressed her further against the wall, their chests inches apart and separated only by Lexi's hands clutching his top.

Her breathing hadn't evened out, if anything growing steadily harder as their mouths moved against each other. Law's other hand moved from the wall to her side, trailing his fingers gently up her t-shirt. Feeling the tingle even through the fabric, she shuddered, letting loose a tiny gasp at his touch. They parted a moment to breathe, and he grinned against her mouth at the sound of her pleasure. Recapturing her lips with his own, he slipped a hand underneath the shirt, making its way to the skin on her back, slowly tracing circles and trails of fire.

She wouldn't be surprised if he could feel the heat on her face, the blush that finally made itself known as he sent those sparks of pleasure and excitement coursing through her nerves, and for just a simple kiss.

God, a part of her wondered if things would get to the point that they did in that closet-

 _'_ _No! What are you doing?'_  The rational part of her brain was finally able to penetrate the adrenaline that had begun clouding her judgment, screaming at her to think about what it was she was doing.

Law pulled her closer to him, his lips leaving her mouth to trail kisses up her jaw and down towards her neck. The sensitive skin there tingled at the feel, and she shivered again as her grip on his hoodie increased, her fingers buried in the yellow and black fabric. His tongue darted out and licked at the soft skin just below her lower jaw bone, earning his a breathy moan, so small but too loud in her own ears. His actions partially erased her internal warnings, but it came back in full swing a moment later.

"S-stop." She whispered heavily, finally gaining a semblance of control over herself. Finding the strength begin to return to her arms, which until then had begun to feel like jelly, she pushed against his chest with her hands. "Law, stop."

Trailing his lips back up to her mouth, he gave her one chaste kiss before pulling away. Noticing her tense up and her pushing at his chest, he gave her a grin.

"Why are you fighting what you obviously want?" He asked in a gravelly whisper. She swallowed thickly, no doubt trying to will her voice not to come out unsteady. She wouldn't meet his gaze, staring at the ground between them.

"I can't do this." She tried again, not quite sure how she wanted to phrase her concerns with him. With Law, you just never knew how he'd take things.

"Can't, or won't?" He inquired, hands still drawing lazily on the skin of her back. "Why not simply give in? I know you want me, Lexi-ya. That much is obvious." He purred, watching as her cheeks turned a lovely shade of deep red.

"I…" She started, but paused as she wondered how honest she wanted to be with herself, and him, in that moment. She shook her head, deciding that maybe it would be easier just to get her true worries out of the way and out in the open. "I can't get attached to you because you'll just end up leaving me alone in the end, once you go back to your world…" She muttered, not realizing that her fingers still held on tightly to his hoodie.

He glanced down at her whitening knuckles, tilting his head in interest.

"It's just setting myself up for heartbreak." She finished, still refusing to look up at his face. Maybe the late hour was making her a little too bold, a little too honest, because she instantly regretted saying anything so vulnerable and emotional. Scoffing at her own pathetic feelings, she shook her head. "But it doesn't matter to you anyways, I know that."

She felt one of his hands leave her back and gently force her chin up, but she resisted, too embarrassed to meet his gaze. He persisted, finally gripping her chin with more force than he'd perhaps intended, making her look up at him.

His gray eyes caught hers once more, and Lexi found she couldn't look away from his intense look. Whatever expression he currently wore was unreadable to the brunette, only making her fidget more underneath him. His eyes searched hers, but what he was looking for was beyond her. Maybe to see if she were lying.

Finally, he grinned, leaning his forehead onto hers but still maintaining eye contact and gripping her chin. "Such an interesting woman you are…" He muttered, more to himself than anything.

"I-" She began, intent to tell him that she didn't want to talk or have him in her room anymore, but he beat her to it.

"Come with us." He stated bluntly, and she frowned.

"W-what?" His sudden statement didn't quite make sense, and he chuckled again. Before she could react, he closed the distance once more, planting another kiss on her lips.

"When we find a way back to our world, come with us. Join my crew." He explained realizing that her tired and still-spinning mind hadn't caught up with the conversation quite yet.

"I don't even have a response to that…" She finally replied, shaking her head. What he was implying was too much for her to comprehend at that moment. Leaving her world behind to pursue a life she wasn't sure about? In a world so filled with death? Was that even possible? Was she just hearing things? Perhaps Law and his crew of pirates was simply a figment of her imagination and this was all some twisted, never-ending dream. Maybe she was actually in a mental hospital, pumped full of drugs and putting her into some loopy dream state.

Cutting through her thoughts was Law's chuckle, and she looked up in time to see him slowly release her chin, but still closing in for one more kiss. Finally, he eased up on her, allowing her to get up from the wall.

"Think about it." He said, turning around and heading towards her door. Sparing her one last glance before leaving, he sent his trademark smirk over his shoulder before disappearing into the dark hallway outside, shutting the door behind him.

For several minutes Lexi could do no more than stare at the spot where he'd been pressing her up against the wall with that sexy look in his eyes. She could still feel the tingle on her back and the press against her lips, as if he'd never left.

Then, finally feeling her exhaustion catch up with her, but knowing she wouldn't be able to sleep a wink that night, she sighed and turned off her overhead light, making her way to the bed so she could lay there for hours staring up at the ceiling, images of Law dancing across her mind.


	36. You Have To Stay Awake

Lexi thought about that late night chat with Law for several days afterwards, finally giving up her whole plan to try to avoid him as much as possible. Look what that ended up with, a small makeup session against the wall in her room. Kind of counterintuitive.

She thought about his offer, how he wanted her to go with them to his world. It scared her, honestly. Which, she thought, is what any normal person would feel, considering some 'alien,' by all definitions, was asking her to leave everything she knew and loved behind to possibly live a better and more exciting life. What if it all ended up killing her in the end? What if she met some brutal demise?

Everything Law mentioned about his world sounded pretty dangerous.

…All the same…

Such adventures Penguin and Shachi spoke of. The fun they boasted about and the tales, which she was sure were exaggerated just a little, were all so full of laughter and pride. They truly loved their lives, of being pirates conquering the seas, of having nothing to hold them down.

Law, too, expressed this similar opinion, albeit a bit more subtly. When she'd asked him to describe his world, he admitted it was cruel, yes, but that there was a treasure to be found at the end of the…Grand Line, or whatever sea he'd called it. He recounted his dream of becoming pirate king, the one to rule over the seas and do whatever it was he'd like.

How she wished that could be a reality.

Doing whatever you wanted? With no boundaries? Nothing to hold you back? Now, that was something Lexi could get behind. Too bad in her world there was always a catch. Always someone or something in the way or attaining what it was you wanted most. Nothing came for free, after all.

So…

Maybe his offer wasn't that ridiculous? She shook her head. Who was she to even know if he was telling the truth? They were pirates. They probably lied and stole and killed for a living.

…But he'd said those things with such certainty, such passion. Shachi and Penguin too. If those were all lies, they were excellently crafted ones. And she didn't think Bepo, such an adorable bear, would lie to her. And he'd agreed, even supplying his own adventures in his search of a female partner.

Lexi sighed, staring up at the ceiling of the living room. Law must have heard this, as he glanced up from reading one of her textbooks.

"Something the matter?" He questioned. Lexi shook her head, but Brittany, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor next to Penguin and Shachi as they played the game of Life, beat her to it.

"Psh, she's just grumpy. I would know. That's her grumpy face." The black-haired woman teased, sending Lexi her best winning smile. The brunette narrowed her eyes.

"I am not grumpy." She defended, crossing her arms in a pout.

"Sure you're not." She waved away Lexi's excuse, reaching over to spin the spinner in the middle of the board when it was her turn.

"What? 10 again?" Shachi cried in outrage, watching as Brittany jumped ahead of his green car on the pathway. "Isn't there a rule about that?" He demanded.

"Only if one of you is a police officer. And what careers do your cards say?" One eyebrow rose as she looked pointedly at their sides of the board.

"Hairdresser." Penguin muttered, glaring at the offending card. Shachi looked sullenly at his own, glaring at the man pictured with glasses in front of a computer.

"Accountant."

"That's right. And I'm a doctor. Which means I can spin as high of a number as I want." She concluded triumphantly, picking a life tile from the pile of unclaimed ones. "So no complaining."

"Hmph." The boys huffed, trying their best not to look like sore losers. They failed, seeing as they crossed their arms and grumbled under their breath, unhappy with how Brittany was so much better at the game than them.

Lexi raised a brow at their dispositions, catching Law's eye. He smirked at her, still wondering what was on her mind. He'd noticed a shift in her attitude since their little 'talk.' She no longer avidly avoided him like before, though he could tell she was still rather confused about something. Probably thinking about his offer. Hmm. He wondered how that mental debate was going, seeing the deep concentration etched into her face.

Suddenly, everyone in the living room heard a very loud  _thump_ , which could be felt through the floor. Brittany frowned, Shachi and Penguin looked around in confusion, Law cocked a brow, and Lexi immediately stood, rushing to her grandmother's room where she knew it had originated from.

The brunette burst through the door in a hurry, frantically looking around the room for Nana. She spotted a foot poking out of the doorway to Nana's bathroom, laying on the ground. The older woman groaned, and Lexi ran to her side, dropping down to her knees to assess what had happened.

"Nana? Are you alright? Can you hear me?" Lexi inspected her grandmother for any wounds. Wearing a casual t-shirt and pants, it was difficult to see anything beneath the clothing, but there were no rapidly spreading bloodstains, so she assumed it wasn't as bad as she'd first feared.

"Lexi?" Nana called, looking around. Lexi leaned over her fallen grandmother, watching as the older woman's eyes narrowed and flicked back and forth around the room. "I can't see. Everything's too blurry."

Lexi gripped Nana's arm, trying to help her up but a hand on her shoulder made her pause. She looked up, seeing Law stooped over her, assessing Nana with a critical eye.

"Don't. She's suffering a stroke. Any sudden movement could make the bleeding worse." He said evenly, moving to crouch down beside Nana's head. She was still trying to peer around the room frantically, becoming panicked when her eyes were too blurry and unfocused to make anything out of the shapes.

"I'm calling an ambulance!" Brittany, who'd stumbled upon them in the bathroom promised, running back into the living room to grab her phone. Lexi's eyes widened, having the sudden realization that Nana could in fact die if she didn't get help fast enough.

"Oh my god…" She muttered quietly, her whole body going tense. Law ignored Lexi's panic, checking over Nana's head carefully, being sure to handle her as gently as possible. Going into full doctor mode, he probed her skull for any case of a fracture or broken bone. There was a very deep and rather pronounced jagged feeling on the very back of her head, probably due to her collapse to the floor.

"How long will the paramedics take to get here?" He questioned Lexi suddenly. Her eyes were glazed over, and she was staring at Nana with innate fear. Narrowing his eyes, he snapped his fingers in front of her face to get her attention. "Lexi-ya!"

"What? Umm…like ten minutes, I don't know." She breathed out, feeling her mouth very dry. "Can't you do something? You're a doctor, god dammit!"

Law eyed her seriously. "I have no equipment, no anesthesia, nor any use of my powers. What are you expecting me to do on the floor of a bathroom?" He could see his answer upset her, seeing as she scowled, looking away. There was no doubt she knew that information already, but that maybe somehow he had some miracle up his sleeve to save her. Unfortunately, that wasn't how medicine worked, no matter how much she wished it did.

"It's an air raid." Nana muttered quietly, her words coming out slurred and almost unrecognizable. "Get to…to the bunker, Lexi."

"Just…just hang in there, Nana." She could see her eyes begin to droop, a sign of her rapidly approaching exhaustion. "No, don't fall asleep, Nana. You have to stay awake for when the reinforcements arrive. They're coming, I promise. General Patton's on his way."

She didn't know why she was pretending the war was still going on. There was no reason to. Her confusion could simply be the stroke's symptoms. But Lexi felt like it was the best thing to do, to keep her thinking that this was just the war. Something she was familiar with, not some random accident. No, she needed to have something to hold onto, to focus on.

Law watched the exchange between Nana and Lexi silently. Lexi, unshed tears forming in her eyes, was trying her best to appear calm and in control for Nana. Nana, on the other hand, was rapidly looking as if she was losing the battle of trying to stay awake.

"No, Nana you have to stay awake." She cried, her voice catching in her throat. Reaching out a hand to grip her grandmother's Lexi squeezed, hoping that she could still feel her presence beside her.

"Sleeping on the battlefield…is a coward's habit…" She muttered, blinking a few times before opening them more, obviously not down and out quite yet.

* * *

It was several more minutes before the paramedics arrived at the house. Law had to physically pull Lexi away from Nana, who was still awake despite a hard struggle. Working quickly and efficiently, they brought in a large orange gurney, placing Nana as gently as they could onto it before strapping in her head so it wouldn't move around dangerously. Checking all they could in a matter of minutes, they wheeled her out towards the ambulance that was waiting in front of the house.

"I'll drive you to the hospital." Brittany supplied, and Lexi nodded, too stunned to really say anything. Law decided at once he'd go with, and neither Brittany nor Lexi denied him that. He ordered Shachi and Penguin to stay there, seeing as they looked like they didn't quite know what to do. He glanced up at the guest bedroom where Bepo was still hidden from sight. He was glad his first mate was sensible enough not to be seen at a time like this.

They watched the ambulance take off down the road, sirens blaring. Brittany ushered everyone into the truck, grabbing the keys from Lexi and turning the key. They took off down the road after the ambulance, hoping that Nana would still be alright when they arrived at the hospital.

* * *

The man leaned his head on his hand, staring at the house with a bored expression. This outing was proving to be a lot less exciting than he'd thought. Perhaps he'd overdone it with that Cooper guy. Lexi had certainly been spooked enough to minimize leaving the house. He pouted. This was no fun.

Things had to happen soon. He was running out of time. He'd taken too long to perfect his method, had spent too much time playing with the insignificant girls he'd practiced on. Oh, this wouldn't do. It was riding on the final stages of his plan. And he really didn't have the patience to wait another year for the day to come along again. No, it had to be now.

Still, when he'd seen that black-haired woman arrive at the house earlier on in the day, though no Lexi coming out of it, his patience was beginning to be tested. He just needed the right time, the right opportunity, to come along. No, he'd be patient. The results would be worth the wait, he reassured himself, his other hand flenching into a fist as an excited tingle ran up his spine.

His eyes looked away from the house and further down the street, hearing the whine of emergency vehicle sirens. They progressively got louder and louder, until finally an ambulance and a police car rounded the bend, coming to a quick halt in front of Lexi's home.

He raised a brow, fearful that something had happened to the girl. No, this would ruin all of his plans. He narrowed his gaze, watching as men ran in with an orange gurney.

Minutes later, they reemerged with the grandmother strapped in, and he breathed a deep sigh of relief. It wasn't Lexi after all. All the better. His plans were still set to continue then.

They filed into the back of the ambulance, closing the doors and the driver set off back the way they'd come, to the hospital.

A grin appeared on his face, watching as Lexi and her friend ran outside towards her vehicle. Then, it faltered, spotting an unfamiliar man with a strangely patterned hat. Who was this man? Why was he there? A boyfriend? Lover? Cousin, relative? His eyes narrowed, a finger tapping in annoyance. This was an unforeseen problem.

Perhaps he'd have one more person to get to before his final target, he thought, his gaze never straying from the man's yellow hoodie as he climbed into the back seat. Watching them back out of the driveway and follow the ambulance, he waited several seconds before turning on his own car, driving after them himself.

* * *

They arrived at the hospital shortly after the ambulance. The parking to the emergency room was always full, packed mainly with employees' vehicles, so Brittany didn't even bother circling the lot, instead parking on the street and cutting the engine, clambering out of the car with the others in a hurried pace.

They dashed through the sea of parked cars and towards the entrance, a double set of glass doors. Lexi was the first to reach it, practically sprinting through them to reach the reception desk.

"Donna Roe, she's my grandmother. They just brought her in. Is she alive?" Lexi demanded in a rush, bracing herself against the admittance desk to stop herself from falling over. The woman working behind the counter, looked up in a shock, stunned by the breathless and wild-eyed gaze of the brunette. Regaining her composure she gave Lexi a sympathetic smile.

"If she's just arrived I have no word of it yet. If the situation is critical, a nurse should be out shortly to update you on what's going on. You can have a seat until then." The woman gestured to the row of chairs at the back of the room, trying her best not to sound too rude about it.

Seeing as Lexi wasn't moving, Law laid a hand on her shoulder and directed her to a seat, guiding her to sit down. She didn't say anything, just sat there in silence staring at the floor. Brittany joined them, looking rather uncomfortable. The edges of her eyes were red with tears as well.

There was another couple sitting on the opposite end of the room but they felt no inclination to speak to them. They simply glanced over occasionally, probably discussing how she'd burst through the door like a madwoman.

Law was anxious as well, feeling helpless as he was forced to sit with no direct involvement in what was going on. Having no powers was extremely frustrating. If he'd had full use of them then perhaps they wouldn't be sitting there worrying over whether her grandmother would live or not.

Impatiently, they all waited for a status on Nana.


	37. Now Or Never

Lexi waited. And waited.

Rocking back and forth in the uncomfortable chair, slowly and persistently, she tried calming herself down. Surely Nana wouldn't die? Life wouldn't take her away as well, right? Not now, not when everything seemed upside down and so confusing. She needed Nana the most right now. She needed her grandmother.

Brittany, who sat beside the brunette, gently rubbed a hand on her back, up and down, in an attempt to help her friend's fears. Obviously it wasn't working, Law thought, eyeing the wide-eyed and blank expression on his host's face, but her friend continued nonetheless. He was willing to bet she didn't even realize she was still doing it.

Law could distinguish the minute movement of her body; she was shaking. Whatever adrenaline had started pumping through her bloodstream back at the house was slowly ebbing away, leaving her body in a state of acute exhaustion.

The other couple in the room had been called on and had been ushered into the emergency room together. Lexi's eyes had locked onto the open double doors of the E.R. wing. He saw a spark across her eyes, and guessed she was debating how far she could get if she ran in to find Nana. But the opportunity was lost as the doors closed again, leaving the three as the only occupants in the waiting room. Her eyes returned to the floor.

This wait was irritating, Law thought. He knew the surgeons were probably operating as they spoke, but wanted to confirm the diagnosis before informing Lexi. He was willing to place a guess as to the extent of her injuries, having seen and felt them firsthand.

As if reading his mind, the door opened and a fully-garbed nurse walked out into the lobby. Her eyes locked on to Lexi, and the brunette suddenly stood. Law watched the nurse approach, pulling off her face mask to speak.

"Your grandmother has suffered a hemorrhagic stroke, in addition to the fractured skull from the fall. It's not clear whether it was one or two arteries that ruptured." She said clinically. Apparently this condition was familiar to Lexi, who closed her eyes and pulled the hair back out of her face with a choked sob.

"Are they operating?" She whispered, and the nurse, trying her best to remain objective and clinical, nodded slowly.

"They are going to attempt to relieve the pressure from the blood buildup. Despite the fractured skull, it did not create an opening large enough for it to alleviate some of it." Breaking her stony appearance, she placed a comforting hand on Lexi's shoulder. "Every surgery has a chance of failure, but our team is doing the best we can."

Nodding mutely, Lexi swallowed with a dry mouth. The nurse had said all she had come to say, and promptly turned back around towards the door, disappearing into the E.R. wing after another moment. Lexi returned to her seat, leaning over and covering her face with her hands.

"It'll be alright." Brittany cooed quietly, not appearing to believe her own words. Law, being the trained doctor that he was, didn't either.

The nurse had said they were clear yet if one or two arteries had burst. One was manageable. Two, however, was almost certainly fatal. That much blood buildup in the brain was far too quick to be treatable in the timespan that it had taken to get Nana medical attention. One glance at Lexi, her face the epitome of hopelessness, confirmed she knew this as well.

* * *

They'd left the house a few hours after lunch, but now the clock showed it right after 4 o'clock. The three would alternate between sitting and standing, the waiting room chairs not really that comfortable to sit in for hours straight. Lexi rose once more, circling the room. They didn't speak. No one really wanted to break the silence, and there wasn't much to talk about anyways.

* * *

5:15 rolled around, and Brittany was beginning to doze off in her seat. The woman put up a valiant fight to stay awake for her friend's sake, but ultimately the hours of inactivity and the soft waiting room music being played overhead did their work, and she was curled in a ball in her chair.

Lexi looked as alert as ever, her eyes red from the lack of blinking. The shaking had stopped some time ago, but in its place came the paleness of her skin. The room was cold, but that didn't explain the amount of apparent discoloration of her skin. Law frowned, wondering just how slow her heart was beating to cause that decrease in pigment. He feared somehow that her circulation was being cut off.

"Lexi-ya." He said quietly, the first in several hours to speak. At first she didn't acknowledge that he'd spoken. Then, gradually, she turned her gaze to him. That hollow expression greeted him. "You should try to get some rest."

She opened her mouth, about to protest that there's no way she would be able to sleep in the current situation, but he cut her off. "It won't do any good if you pass out from exhaustion. I'll wake you up again when they give us news."

She stared for a moment longer, but finally nodded slowly. Crossing her arms, she leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes. It was a start, but he knew her mind was still working behind those closed eyes.

* * *

It was close to 6 o'clock and Brittany had woken up from her nap. She rubbed groggily at her eyes, gazing around at the room, as if expecting to see her bedroom and not the white walls of the emergency waiting room. Law heard her quiet sigh, before straightening up her back from her hunched position.

Lexi, on the other hand, had somehow managed to fall into a light state of rest. And in doing so, had sought out a better position to lay. Law's arm was sitting on the armrest of his chair, and Lexi unconsciously leaned her head against it in her sleep, snuggling up to him for warmth. He raised a brow but knew that if he woke her now she'd be unlikely to fall asleep again.

Then, finally, a doctor emerged from the doors. Dressed in standard medical attire, his face covered by a medical mask and a cap covering his hair, Law saw how tired his eyes were. This must be the doctor who operated, knowing that same feeling himself of exhaustion after a particularly difficult operation.

Brittany sat up a little straighter when he approached, and Law turned to Lexi. Nudging her gently against the arm, she stirred in her sleep.

"Lexi-ya." He called, for whatever reason brushing a thumb against her cheek. It was soft, just as her lips had been that night. He mentally shook his head. Now was not the time for such thoughts. "Lexi-ya." He said again, a little louder.

Her eyes cracked open, then widened a fraction when she remembered where they were. Stiffening up and sitting upright, she glanced around, finally noticing the doctor beginning to remove his face mask.

"I-is…she alright?" Her voice wavered, finally standing to face him.

He took his time unhooking the mask from behind his ears, finally revealing his face underneath. And he was not smiling.

…Why wasn't he smiling? That was her first thought. And her heart leapt into her throat, stopping her from speaking.

"My team did everything they could for her," He began softly, pausing at the choked sob that racked Lexi's body, "but unfortunately we were unable to save your grandmother." He finished, looking to the ground.

It started out with two uneven breaths, then several more, as she backed away. Her eyes drifted to the side, not really seeing anything at all. Then she was hyperventilating in full, panting in irregular intervals, and Law stood to catch her before she crumpled to the floor, unable to process the fact that Nana was no longer there for her.

Her cries echoed around the empty waiting room, muffled only by Law's hoodie as she buried her face into the material, needing some semblance of control. Brittany turned away from everyone, probably trying to hide her own crying. The doctor simply stood there, allowing her to let out her emotions. Apparently he had more to say to that, but decided to wait until she was calm enough to think clearly.

Law stood there, holding up the brunette as she clutched at his hoodie and cried into the fabric. Comforting crying people wasn't normally his thing, but as a doctor he was prepared for it. So he simply allowed her to cry.

It took several minutes, Law managing to guide her to a chair, and the doctor bringing over some tissues to save Law's hoodie.

Lexi's crying had decreased, simply because she was running out of tears to cry. She felt dehydrated, cold, clammy, and a wave of unimaginable sadness sweeping over her. But she couldn't cry forever. Eventually, it lessened enough for the doctor to continue talking again.

"There are some papers that need to be filled out before she is allowed to leave." The doctor directed these words to Law, seeing as he was of a better state of mind. He gestured to the uncomfortable-looking woman behind the desk. "Amanda will have those at the reception when she's ready."

"I can fill them out for her. So she doesn't have to worry about them." Brittany volunteered, sniffling still but otherwise gaining her composure once more. Her eyes were rimmed with red but her gaze dared him to deny her that task. She knew having to go through overly objective paperwork was probably the last thing Lexi wanted to deal with at that moment. And she was feeling utterly useless since Law had been comforting her.

The doctor looked stricken. "Unless you have written permission from the family or authorization-"

"Let her do it." Lexi interrupted, wiping her face with a tissue. "She can fill them out in my place, I give her authorization."

Wavering between protocol and being sensitive to the situation, he finally nodded, gesturing for Brittany to follow him towards the front reception desk. Brittany was grateful for him allowing tis exception, anything to help her friend cope with this loss. Giving her friend a quick hug before leaving, she followed after the doctor.

Law remained by Lexi's side, but looked up when she stood, grabbing another tissue from the box. "I need some time alone." She whispered, heading towards the entrance. He said nothing but didn't try running after her. This reaction didn't surprise him.

She walked through the automatic doors, her figure slowly getting smaller as she got further away. Lexi wandered aimlessly in the parking lot, her mind lost in her grief and confusion. He watched her, unsure of what today's events would do to her mental and emotional stability.

* * *

He grinned widely, watching as a distraught Lexi wove in and out of cars in the lot. His blood pumped faster, and he could feel his heart hammering in his chest. Oh, this was wonderful. All alone with no one around. His gaze flicked around at the top of the building, seeing no cameras or surveillance antennas. The perfect time the perfect place.

Opening the door to his car as quietly as he possibly could, he stepped out to the pavement, closing it equally as carefully. Tire iron in hand, he slowly approached closer to the hospital, a delighted grin on his face.

* * *

The shadows from the sun had moved, instead of remaining on the sidewalk, there wasn't a patch of sun to be seen. The sky was darkening, dusk slowly settling over the town. She didn't know how long she'd been wandering around aimlessly in the parking lot, picking strange and zigzagged paths on the concrete, her mind too jam-packed with nonsense to really make out any of it.

_'_ _She's gone…really gone…It's my fault I should have been watching her…Those doctors didn't try hard enough!…Law sat there and did nothing, even though he's a doctor…Was she in a lot of pain?…Oh, god…It hurts so much…I'm alone now…What am I going to do?…I can't do this…I…I can't…'_

Her face itched, but no matter how much she scratched at it, the feeling wouldn't go away. Her eyes hurt, her chest hurt. Her legs felt like jelly, all wobbly and unsteady. She sniffled to prevent her nose from running. She'd much rather be sick, like she was with Law. She would have much preferred that.

A hand touched her shoulder, and she whirled around. Law retreated a step, watching her violently react to his touch. Eyes wide, she paused, seeing who it was. He raised a brow.

"You've been out here for awhile, you know." His soft voice said. She stopped pacing and crossed her arms.

"Yeah…I know. Sorry…" The weakness in her voice startled him. Usually so strong and clear, it was reduced to a defeated whimper. It was worrying, how easily she was this defeated. It made him question how, if she actually accepted his offer, she would fare with the constant threat of danger and death in his world.

"Perhaps you should come inside. Brittany-ya wants you to look over the paperwork and make sure it's correct."

She shook her head. "I don't want to go back there yet. Just give me a few more minutes…please…"

His eyes searched hers a moment, his expression unreadable once more, just as it had been before he'd kissed her. At the thought, she froze again. Because even though Nana was gone and she had nothing left, even though she'd convinced herself it was wrong, she wanted him to kiss her.

She wanted to forget, to be lost in good feelings instead of these depressing, morose ones. Oh, how she just wanted to be lost in some oblivion, numb, unable to really understand what was happening. She wanted to feel the heat of his fingers trailing her stomach, pressing her against the wall, his lips tugging at hers. To be so totally surrounded by her lust that she couldn't think straight.

She just wanted to be lost to her desires. There wasn't much to lose now anyways. Maybe her mind, but that didn't matter much now.

She took a step forward, arms reaching up to wrap around his neck. If he wasn't going to do it, she would. Her inhibitions be damned. But before she could fully bring herself up to him, he gently grabbed her arms, lowering them from his neck. Her confused face looked up to him, unable to understand.

"You aren't thinking clearly, Lexi-ya." He muttered, a soft but strained expression on his face. As if it were difficult to push her away. As hard as he tried to make it appear that he wasn't flat out  _rejecting_  her, simply finding it the wrong time, her emotions were still overloaded and couldn't seem to perceive this.

Her eyes watered with newly-found tears, and she resorted to wrapping her arms around his middle instead, pulling his body close.

"She's gone…" She sobbed, and he gently, if not hesitantly, rested his hands on her back. He felt her body shaking in his arms, and he unconsciously leaned his head on top of hers. Lexi's arms tightened when he seemed to accept her embrace. His close proximity seemed to help ease her tortured mind, because after too long of him holding her close she seemed to calm down again.

"Let's go back inside." He prompted again once her sniffling was less pronounced. She looked up, and he moved one hand to brush her cheek once more, pushing loose strands of hair away from her face. It was involuntary. Law didn't even know why he did it.

"Just a few more minutes. I promise." She whispered, and he finally nodded. Then, more out of impulse than anything, he leaned down and kissed her forehead tenderly. With one more glance he removed himself from her arms and walked back inside. Immediately, she missed his warmth.

* * *

He glared at the stranger's back, cursing under his breath at the small kiss he placed on the brunette's forehead. Watching with a disgusted scowl, he clenched his fist, fingers holding the tire iron tightening painfully. He ignored it, staring at the two as the man finally pulled away and went back inside. Lexi stayed put. His eyes narrowed.

Now or never. It was time to act.

* * *

Lexi didn't want to go back inside, she didn't want to look at those papers, or even see Brittany in a similar state of sorrow. It might just set her off again, might just make her break down and cry some more.

She sighed, rubbing her forehead to fend off the oncoming headache. This always happened when she cried too much. Her head felt light and dizzy. She resisted the urge to puke.

Footsteps on pavement slowly became louder, once she realized they were there, and she looked up, seeing a brown-haired man run towards her with a tire iron in his hand. She unconsciously took a step back. He looked down, seeming to realize what he had in his hand.

"O-oh! No, it's ok. I was changing my tire, sorry. Didn't mean to frighten you." He added sheepishly, holding up his hands in a defensive manner. She frowned, not sure what to make of this man.

His eyes were a piercing blue-green, but he had an honest face. He seemed to realize that she wasn't going to say anything and quickly recovered.

"Right, well. Um…are you the owner of that old truck on the street?" He gestured towards where it was parked. She glanced over but was unable to see it. She nodded, and he continued. "Well, I think someone slashed your tires."

"W-what?" She asked, frown deepening, automatically looking back towards the road as if she could see it happening right then.

"Yeah. I chased them away but they still managed to get to at least one of them." He cringed, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand. "Come on, I'll show you."

He began walking towards the truck, and in her anger, she followed. Just great. This was the very  _last_  thing she needed to deal with right now. If she saw whoever it was that had done it on the way there, she just might strangle someone.

They walked through the packed parking lot until the truck was in sight. Her eyes narrowed, not seeing any visible damage from this view. She glanced at the man but he wasn't looking at her.

"They don't look slashed." She commented, still walking with him to the car. He gave her a surprised look.

"It was the back tire, on the other side. Here, see?" They had approached the car now, and rounded to the opposite side facing the street. Lexi crouched down a little and inspected all the tires, seeing no damage to anything. Things were getting fishy.

Frowning, she went to stand. "I don't see-ARGH!" Something hard hit her in the back of the head, and that was the last thing she registered before her body crumpled to the pavement.

* * *

Oh,  _yes!_  This was  _wonderful!_  His smile returning in full force, he dropped the tire iron to the ground. Hands shaking from adrenaline and excitement, he let out a shaky breath. Turning to his car which was parked directly behind hers, he grabbed out his keys and popped open the trunk with a press of a button. He knelt down to pick her up, grunting at the weight. She was a lot heavier than he'd imagined, but no matter. He hadn't hit her hard enough to fill her, either. He'd made sure of it.

Licking his lips, he tossed her into the trunk, licking his lips with anticipation.

Suddenly, he could hear a female shouting her name, as well as hard footfalls, coming closer by the second. Knowing that it was time to go, he ran to the driver's seat, slamming the door behind him. He jabbed the key in the ignition and, without so much as a glance at the two figures approaching his car, he shoved it into drive, leaving the hospital behind with his stolen prey.


	38. Wake Up, My Dear

Law returned to the inside of the emergency waiting room, glancing back once more at Lexi, still standing outside to compose herself. A feminine sigh made him glance back, watching as Brittany finished signing all the hospital papers. She leaned her head against an elbow on the counter.

"This stuff doesn't even try to make you feel better about the situation." Her tired eyes met his for a brief moment, turning away to stare at the floor. She dropped the pen back onto the counter and thanked Amanda, the receptionist, before rising and grabbing her purse.

"I'm starving, but I don't really think anyone has an appetite for anything right now." Brittany muttered, hearing her stomach gurgle once more. Placing a hand on the offending area of her body, she sat, Law doing the same right beside her.

"Most people don't after losing a loved one." Law agreed, leaning back into his chair and staring up at the ceiling. It was sectioned off into identical square panels, strange white dotted patterns adorning the underside. But these random patterns and dots gave him something to focus on while they waited for Lexi to come back inside.

"You know, normal Brittany would be flirting up a storm right now with you," She admitted, a wry grin on her face, "but I think I would just come across as insensitive, given where we are." She finished with a mutter, trying to lighten the mood just a little. Law graced her with an amused smirk, but they both returned to silence again.

The soft waiting room music continued to play, and Law lost himself to the quiet lyrics of whatever song it was.

"…why do you call her Lexi-ya?" Brittany inquired, gaining his attention once more. He shrugged.

"It's customary in my…country." He lied, hoping she wouldn't question it too much. Thankfully this answer seemed to satisfy her, and she returned to looking through her purse. Unknown objects clinked and clanked together from within the bag's depths. Law could only wonder what sort of items this young woman held within it, though he'd rather not find out.

"Oh, I still have Lexi's keys in here." Brittany pulled out a keyring, the contents jangling together as the keys fell back into place. "Well, I should probably drive us home anyways. I don't think she's really in any…condition…to…" Law looked up as the woman's sentence got slower and slower, her train of thought coming to a complete stop. She was staring off past him, towards the parking lot, frowning deeply.

Following her gaze, Law gazed out of the glass double doors and over to the two people standing outside. Lexi was still there, but with her was an unrecognizable pale-skinned man, with dark brown hair, holding some sort of metal object, the end bent at a 90 degree angle.

He appeared to be gesturing behind him, talking to Lexi. The brunette then appeared to become surprised or angry at something he'd said, and she clenched her fists. Then, he began walking the other direction, and she followed. Law's first thought was that maybe she knew him, maybe he was a friend of hers she'd never talked about. Maybe from college. Brittany, however, stood up and slowly walked to the door.

"Do you recognize him?" Law asked then, a sudden uneasy feeling building in his chest. Immediately, Brittany grabbed her stuff and began rushing out the door.

"No. I don't know who he is." She answered worriedly, Law trailing behind her. "Lexi!" She yelled, hoping to stop whatever she feared was about to happen. Of course, she could be completely wrong and panicking for no reason, but that didn't stop her heart from racing in her chest. Parked cars passed them by as they hurried to spot where the two had gone.

Finally rounding the corner, Law and Brittany paused a moment, watching as the unknown man threw an unconscious Lexi into the back of a red sedan, though it was difficult to distinguish in the dark, closing the trunk loudly.

"LEX!" Brittany panicked, running full sprint towards the man. Her chest was seizing up, but she felt all this newfound energy coursing through her body, intent on getting back her friend who was suddenly in danger. Law, his reflexes just as quick, caught up to her easily, quickly gaining since he was much faster. His years of training and instinct far surpassed that of Brittany's ability.

He heard the familiar sound of the vehicle being started, and before he could even reach the car, the man was peeling away from the curb, tires squealing loudly. Brittany ran ahead a few more feet, staring at the quickly escaping car.

"Oh my god, LEXI!" Brittany called again in vain, trying to memorize the license plate on the car. She got down the first two digits or so, but the car was gone before she caught the rest. Tears beginning to pool in her eyes, she sobbed a little. "I'm calling the cops!" Brittany cried, pulling out her phone, but Law halted her wrist tightly.

"We have a better chance of finding her if we follow him ourselves. But we have to leave now." His commanding voice explained, and she hesitantly agreed that he was right. While her first thought was that they had to call the cops as soon as possible, if there was a chance they could find the bastard themselves and possibly stop any initial harm from coming to her friend, that was most important. Or, at the very least, would be able to find where they were taking her and give the police a suitable address. Any rational thought was quickly being overtaken with afterimages of Lexi being unceremoniously dumped into the back of that car. Her anger was beginning to grow as well. And that was all the motivation she needed.

Putting her phone away, she scrambled back to the truck and piled in with Law, slamming the doors closed and turning the engine as fast as was humanly possible. Not bothering to put on seatbelt or any other safety precaution. She shoved it into drive and stomped the gas pedal, the truck rocketing forward in pursuit of the red sedan.

* * *

He laughed loudly, glee bubbling up as he turned a corner. Oh, this was  _so much fun!_  He'd never  _felt_  so alive! All that practice, it felt nothing like the real thing. Those other women had come much too easily, much too quick. Yes, he found he enjoyed a  _real_  challenge. Biding his time, lying in wait. How  _dramatic!_

Grin still in place, he slowed calmly at the stop sign, knowing that drawing too much attention may get him pulled over by an unexpected police car. No, that would certainly ruin things. The streets weren't busy at this time of night, but you never knew when a stray patrolman might be cruising the back roads, watching for those teens trying to drag race.

Hearing the sound of an approaching vehicle behind his, he glanced at the rearview mirror, spotting the familiar shape of Lexi's old truck turn the corner he had just been at without bothering to stop. He grinned more, shutting off his headlights and pressing on the gas pedal, the engine whirring louder and higher pitcher as it picked up speed.

Yes, the thrill of the chase was  _much_  more exciting.

* * *

Brittany didn't say much as she drove, her headlights illuminating the road in front of them. Law, on the other hand, glanced at either side, since her focus was what was in front. If there was any chance that he'd pulled off to the side, Law would see it and alert Brittany.

The truck bumped and rattled much more when Brittany drove it, though considering the situation, this didn't surprise him. Still, it was a little nauseating to be shaken around in the contraption. He had to pinch the bridge of his nose to help clear it.

"There!" She shouted suddenly, pointing in front of her at the red sedan turning left towards the highway. She picked up speed, approaching the turn as the other car seemed to realize they were there and hit the gas as well. Seeing no other cars nearby, and perhaps a bit more aggressively than she'd intended, she practically drifted around the corner in pursuit, somehow managing not to flip the truck on its side.

Law narrowed his eyes, hand clenching into a fist. If only he'd had his powers, catching up to this man would be so easy.

As time went on, the sedan still managed to pull further and further ahead in the quickly darkening evening. They never got close enough to read the rest of the license plate, nor did it seem they had any true destination in mind. They simply continued on in a straight line on the highway. Law discovered that he was despising Lexi's world more and more by the minute.

"Can't you go any faster?" He quipped, sparing a glance at the black-haired woman. She gritted her teeth, foot all the way to the floor.

"I'm trying! This old thing doesn't go any faster, dammit!" Fingers wrapped around the steering wheel in a death grip, the landscape passing them by in a blur, Brittany squinted into the night, all of a sudden not quite sure where the car they were chasing was located. "Do you see it?"

Law scanned the road ahead but was unable to make out the distinguishing shadow of the red vehicle. Her headlights only reached so far, and past that point it was increasingly difficult to see anything at all. With a deep sigh, he shook his head, frustrated that they'd lost it in the ever-growing darkness. "He's gone."

"Dammit!" Brittany shouted, slamming the palm of her hand into the middle of the steering wheel. Something loud honked briefly. Gradually, Brittany eased her foot off of the accelerator, coming to the conclusion that no matter how long they drove, the mystery man was long gone.

"We should return to the house." Law gritted, his whole body tense. Whoever this man was, he gave a silent promise that he wouldn't hold back for anyone's sake, already conjuring up the sort of punishment he would bestow upon him. A slow and agonizing, cruel sort of death.

"No, we should call the police now. We lost him, we have no idea where he is." Brittany once again suggested, reaching over to her bag to grab her phone. As before, Law gripped her wrist that reached for it, stopping her from proceeding.

"We can't do that." Instantly, her worried gaze turned to one of anger and bewilderment. Slowing the truck to a halt so she wouldn't accidentally crash into anything she, put it in park.

"What the hell are you saying? The police will be able to find her! I don't know how things work in your country but here in America the police have all the authority to-"

"We will  _not_  be calling the police." He repeated, squeezing her hand until it was too painful for Brittany to keep hold of the phone, and she dropped it with a cry back into her purse. Before her other hand could try reaching for it, Law snatched the bag out of her reach and dropped it into the backseat.

"LAW!" She yelled, trying to lunge for it. She was pushed back in her seat, feeling the hand grasp tightly around her neck. "What-?" She started, but only managed a choked sound afterwards.

The man brought his face close to hers, his eyes narrowed. Wide eyes taking in her appearance, she was suddenly afraid not only for her friend's but her own personal safety as well. That sadistic smirk that Brittany had always found so sexy was suddenly changed into a tight line, his eyes betraying his intent to harm her if necessary.

"Calling these policemen will put myself and my men into danger, and that is something that I  _won't_  allow, regardless of their possible usefulness. Is that understood, Brittany-ya?" That honeyed, all-too-sweet tone with which he spoke her name was frightening. Seeing her struggle to breathe, he loosened his hand around her neck, and she frantically nodded that she understood. Satisfied that he'd gotten his point across, he pulled back and sat comfortably in his seat once more.

"Now, go back to the house. There's something I need to get, and the others can join us in our search."

"What…" Brittany coughed a few times, finding her voice again. He didn't miss the final glance at the backseat, as if debating if there was any possible way to reach her bag without him knowing. "What more can we possibly do? We have no idea where they are and how are we supposed to apprehend a  _murderer? We. Are. Unarmed."_  She tried reiterating, still looking at him fearfully and as though he had a second head.

He sighed, resting his head against the headrest but glad that she was finally turning the truck around to head back home. It seemed Brittany would be questioning a lot of things unless he explained them to her thoroughly, which would only make things harder.

Considering the item he was going to retrieve from the house and the until-then-unknown member of his crew that Brittany hadn't met yet, who would be extremely important in trying to find their missing brunette, he decided that the total truth may be best in this scenario. Regardless of how she handled the information or how she looked at him afterwards.

"There is something that you must know about myself and my men." Law said finally, staring out of the front windshield into the darkness. "I'm only going to explain this once, so listen well."

* * *

Confident that he had lost his pursuers, he drove further down the highway until he reached an unmarked dirt road branching off to the side. An old, wooden sign declared it as 'Fisherman's Hollow.' Slowing, he turned down the dusty road in the dark, familiar enough with its bends and rocks poking out in the middle to not need his headlights to navigate.

Trees quickly surrounded the road on either side, the path zigzagging deeper into the shadowy forest. It took several minutes, since he was forced to reduce his speed to under 20 miles an hour traversing the path, but eventually the trees thinned until they reached a clearing, a wooden house standing in its center.

He pulled his car to a stop in front of the front porch, seeing as there was no defined driveway or garage to park in. Turning off the car, he opened the door and slowly made his way to the trunk.

He'd accidentally left the tire iron back at the hospital, but it was of no matter. While his favorite knife had been left inside the house, he always carried his small pocket knife with him, and promptly pulled it out from his pocket. He didn't expect to need it at the moment, but one never knew how long a person would stay unconscious from a blow to the head. He didn't want any surprises or setbacks this far into his plan.

Turning the key to the trunk, he swiftly opened the lid and brandished the knife threateningly, but it turned out to be in vain, since Lexi was still very much dead to the world from her head injury. Grinning, he pocketed the knife once more and bent over to pick up her body. Hefting her dead weight bridal style, he closed the trunk with his foot, walking over to the front door of the house. The lights to the foyer and living room were still on, as he saw through the windows.

He managed to twist the knob while still maintaining his grip on Lexi, and let the door swing open with a loud creak, stepping inside to the cold interior. The sickly sweet and pungently sour smell of cocaine filled the house, and assaulted his nose as soon as he crossed the threshold. Scowling, he closed the door behind him with his foot, peering into the living room.

Spotting his passed-out mother, the thin lines of unsnorted coke still on the coffee table, he scoffed disgustingly at the sight of her spread haphazardly across the couch cushions. He couldn't tell if she was even dead or not. Nor did he really. Disregarding her existence, he continued further into the house, passing into the kitchen and over to the opposite hallway leading to the laundry room. There was a door there, and he strugglingly turned the knob, swinging the door open without a sound.

Below was a set of steep, concrete stairs, leading into the darkness of the basement. Pulling the string to the lightbulb directly above the first few steps, it illuminated enough of the space to step down into the room beneath.

Feeling that familiar sense of calm and excitement whenever he entered his workspace, he walked to the bottom of the stairs, wandering over to the old wooden chair set in the middle of the concrete floor. He inspected it critically, deciding that from its repeated use it was getting worn and a little rickety. Shaking his head, he carefully set her down to sit in it. No matter. This would be the last use of it anyways.

Her head slumped forward onto her chest, and he moved her arms to wrap around the back of the chair, picking up the shackles from the floor to chain them together. Then, satisfied they were tight enough, he moved to chain her legs down as well.

Stepping backwards to look at his handiwork, he chuckled aloud, fingers tingling at the prospect of what he had in mind. Then, he had another thought. Oh, he almost forgot the best part! Running to the table, he searched through his various tools and grabbed the roll of duct tape, tearing off a piece with his teeth. Returning to her side, he placed the strip carefully over her mouth, giving it one final pat to make sure it stuck.

Returning to the door, he locked it from that side, sliding the thick metal tumbler over so it couldn't be opened. He didn't want his cracked-out mother accidentally waking up and interrupting his business. Then, he went back down where she was chained.

He paced the floor for a few moments, hoping she'd wake up right then, but it seemed he'd hit her a little harder than he'd wanted to, seeing as she didn't wake up still. With a pleasant sigh, he grabbed another chair from the corner and brought it to face his newest and final victim. Sitting, he hunched over, his fingers steepled.

Taking the time to memorize her face, his eyes grazed over every inch of her figure; eyes closed, breasts pushed out due to the way he'd shackled her, chest rising and falling evenly with every breath, pale skin peeking out of the space between her shirt and jeans. He couldn't  _wait_  to get started.

But first, she had to be awake. So he could enjoy those delicious sounds of terror and pain, torn from her pretty little mouth by his own hands. Unable to help himself, he giggled.

"Wake up, my dear." He whispered, patiently waiting for the time her eyes opened.


	39. Fate Is Our Master

**Warning: Scenes and mentions of torture.**

* * *

 

Brittany was speechless.

For several moments, the only sound between the two was their unsteady breathing and the sound of the tires eating up the miles on the highway towards the house. She swallowed, licking her lips as she tried to formulate something to say in response to what he'd said.

"…you're…an alien." She finally settled on, intentionally keeping her eyes on the road so they didn't drift to the man sitting beside her. Suddenly she could feel every hair on the back of her arms, a strange tingle running up her spine as the brunt of his words finally sunk in. She gave a humorless laugh. "You've got to be kidding me."

"I assure you, I speak the truth." He glared at the woman, knowing by the small shake of her head and the breathless laugh that she didn't believe him in the slightest. He internally sighed, wondering how Lexi's world accomplished anything with everyone's narrow-mindedness.

"Right, let me get this straight…you're telling me that you're some pirate in a make believe land," She waved her fingers in the air childishly, "and that you are best friends with a talking kung fu polar bear, and that you have magical powers that allow you to do super cool stuff in a blue bubble."

A sidelong glance confirmed that she was grinning in amusement, obviously finding this whole thing rather humorous. He cleared his throat, crossing his arms.

"I don't quite see what you find so funny." His dark tone indicated he would not be laughed out any longer. Brittany stopped her audible laughter, but if the shake in her belly and the still-present grin were anything to go by, she was still laughing on the inside.

"Oh, just the fact that I now know why Lexi was so hesitant to get with you." He raised a brow in surprise. "You're a total nutcase. Belong in a mental institute."

They finally arrived at Lexi's street, turning down the road and heading towards the house. Once they were close, Brittany slowed the truck and turned into the driveway, cutting the lights once they'd come to a complete stop. She cut the engine and got out of the driver's seat, and instantly she tried opening the backdoor to try reaching her bag. Law, however, was prepared for this. Not having gotten out yet, he turned in his seat and snatched up her purse, holding it out of her reach as he exited the vehicle from the other side.

Brittany huffed, eyes narrowing as he walked around the truck and smirked at her. "A valiant attempt, Brittany-ya."

"Bastard." She muttered, walking up towards the house. From the windows inside, she saw Shachi and Penguin peeking through. They opened the door once they came onto the porch.

"Captain! Is everything alright?" Penguin questioned.

"Where's Lexi-chan? And her grandmother?" His friend inquired, looking around behind them for any sign of the brunette or the older woman. Pushing past the two, Law walked into the house and immediately went to the closet. The others finally entered back into the house, closing the door behind them.

"Lexi's grandmother died at the hospital." Brittany said softly, and the two men looked to the floor.

"Oh…I'm really sorry, Brittany-chan." Penguin rubbed the back of his head, while Shachi dug the toe of his shoe into the tile.

Law's perusing of the closet caused several bumps and thumps, and finally he withdrew a long black and white object. Her eyes widened when she realized what it was, taking a step away from him.

"Lexi-ya has been taken by that murderer." Law explained matter-of-factly, facing his two friends. "We are going back out to find her and bring her back."

At the mention of their host in danger, their solemn expressions cleared up just as suddenly as they'd appeared. Backs straight and chins up, they were looked decidedly angrier than before.

"That bastard! We'll show him who's friend to mess with!"

"Just wait until I get my hands on him!"

Staring at the two, she felt a jolt of gratefulness pass through her. She wasn't alone in all this. She wasn't the only one grieving the disappearance of her friend, and she wasn't the only one set out to find her, seeing as Law wouldn't allow her to contact the police. She was still pissed-off about that, in fact, she was livid, but it was nice to know that at least these two truly cared about Lexi.

Law turned to his men and pointed towards the living room. "See what useful supplies you can find in the basement. Shachi-ya, go find any firearms you can to bring with us. I don't want to take any risks."

"Yes, Captain!" The two scurried away to do as they were told, practically tumbling over each other in their haste.

Law then unsheathed his sword, and Brittany's eyes were drawn to it's sheer length. Much longer than any other stereotypical sword she'd seen in her life, her curiosity was quickly dashed by the intense fear at the sight of him brandishing it like it was a twig, as if it weighed nothing.

He inspected the blade, finally nodding in satisfaction before returning it to the black and white crossed sheath. Then, he turned to the stairs. "Bepo!" He called, and Brittany frowned.

A door upstairs opened, and something heavy began down the stairs. Blocked so far by a wall, she was startled to hear a voice.

"Yes, Captain?"

Something white and orange rounded the bend in the stairs, and very…furry. Eyes widening she watched as an orange-jumpsuit-clad polar bear sauntered down the steps with purpose, coming to attention in front of Law.

"I'll need you to track Lexi-ya's scent. You'll be coming with us." The bear raised a hand in salute.

"Aye, Captain!"

Law turned to Brittany, who held the keys for the truck. Seeing her shocked expression at the sight of Bepo, who cocked his head at her curiously, he smirked. Deciding that introductions were in order, he gestured to the woman.

"Bepo, this is Brittany-ya, Lexi-ya's friend." The bear walked forward, but Brittany took several steps back, staring up in terror at the bear's face. He leaned down and sniffed her, and she whimpered aloud.

"D-don't!" She cried, and he straightened up again.

"…I'm sorry…" He slumped in depression, a darkening aura surrounding him. Shachi and Penguin sweatdropped, still in disbelief at the bear's sensitivity. When he spoke, she froze up, her mind still unable to process what was going on. Law walked up beside his first mate, laying a hand on Bepo's arm.

"You…y-you…" She raised a shaky finger, pointing limply up at the bear.

"As you can see, not quite  _all_  of my story was  _make-believe,_  as you so blatantly put it." He practically purred, watching her face with interest. He quite enjoyed this blatant fear in her eyes.

It took several moments of open-mouthed horror for Brittany to really begin to understand what was going on. Law watched her force a deep breath, an attempt to get her rapidly-beating heart in check. The black-haired woman blinked several times. And then, with a shake of her head, she let out a huff.

"The longer we stand here the longer Lexi is in the hands of that murderer, so let's go." Then, promptly turning on her heel she opened the front door and walked out again, not bothering to wait and see if the others were following.

Smirking again, Law followed, knowing that the others would return once their tasks were complete, satisfied that he'd come out on top. Now, the only task left was to find Lexi. And when they did, he'd be sure to give this murderer Law's  _personal_ regards. His fingers tightened around the sheath of his nodachi, a grin slowly growing on his face.

* * *

 _"…_ _and get your love. Come and get your love! Come and get your love!…Hey, hey…what's the matter with your feel right…"_  Slowly, the sound of music floated in and out of her consciousness, the lyrics making no sense to her as she hadn't quite gained her cognitive ability back yet. The next thing that registered was the pain at the back of her head.

"Ugh…" Lexi groaned, rolling her neck slowly from the slumped position against her chest. It was difficult to breathe. Her eyes cracked open, the painful sensation at the back of her head causing her to close them once more. She tried opening her mouth but found that something prevented her from doing so.

"Ah, you're finally awake!" A voice said somewhere in front of her. Head jerked upwards to try to pinpoint the source of the voice, she let out another muffled groan when the movement caused a spike in the pain in her head. She wouldn't be doing that again.

Something metal stopped her hands from reaching her head, and she experimentally pulled at them again, hearing the clink of chains behind her back. As the fog from being unconscious slowly wore away, the panic and fear began to set in. Her legs were chained too, she quickly discovered.

She sucked in a breath, or at least tried to, but failed when she finally registered the tape across her mouth. Instead, she sucked it in through her nose, and whoever had spoken chuckle a little. But she was much too terrified to open her eyes.

"Aww, the poor thing is terrified. I guess I should have expected that though." It became apparent that whoever was there was a man, and then she remembered what had happened in front of the hospital. Lexi's body tensed up.

A hand appeared on her face, tipping her chin upwards. Fearfully, she jerked it away, only for the hand to grip it tighter, preventing her from moving.

"Open your eyes, my dear. Look me in the face." His voice purred, just as soft as the song in the background. The heated breath of her kidnapper could be felt on her face. Contrary to what she had expected, his breath smelled minty and fresh, not like the gross and disgusting smell she'd would have attributed to him.

Shaky breaths escaping through her nose, she somehow found the courage to open her eyes, taking in the amused grin of the brown-haired man. He tilted his head, searching her eyes.

"See? Isn't that a bit better?" He leaned forward then, and she leaned back as far as she could, but his cold lips still pressed a gentle kiss against her forehead, mimicking the way Law's had in her moment of grief.

 _'_ _Law…'_  She immediately thought, missing that confident smirk and the presence that always made her feel so safe…She wished he was there now, instead of this unknown man.

His mouth lingered there longer than appropriate, and she whimpered at the feeling, but he ultimately pulled back without any other action. His hand finally leaving her chin, he backed up and stood, wandering over to a table on the side of the room.

While he was busy with something else, she frantically searched the room, trying to figure out where she was. It was a basement, that much was obvious. The concrete floor and brick walls that smelled like mildew made that frankly apparent. There were no windows, and the only light source appeared to be a single lightbulb above her, the long string dangling within a foot or so of her head.

"Tell me, Lexi." The man started again, finished whatever he was doing and walking back over to her. He brandished a large kitchen knife in one hand, idly twirling it in between his hands. Her eyes widened, watching as the blade reflected the light from above, glinting dangerously before her very eyes.

The man pulled a chair nearby closer, sitting directly across from her. Lexi swallowed thickly behind the tape, eyes never leaving the weapon in his hand. He continued to spin the knife, eyes inspecting the blade with interest.

"Do you know who I am?" He asked quietly, eyes finally staring into hers with an intensity she could only imagine possible with Law. But those blue-green eyes of his held no hidden warmth, or teasing nature. These ones held a cold fury, a twisted mind, and an insanity that terrified her to the very core. She'd never seen someone so emotionally detached and uncaring as this man before her.

Remembering his question, she shook her head. In response, he sighed dramatically.

"Hmm…that is very unfortunate. I don't appreciate being lied to." He whispered. Tilting his head, he leaned forward with the knife, reaching towards the pants at her thigh.

 _'_ _No!'_  She thought loudly, only able to cry out in a muffled whimper, shrinking into the chair as he lowered the tip of the knife to her leg, about three quarters up her thigh. He held the knife vertically, slowly pushing the blade into the jean material, until it poked through, stopping short of piercing her in the leg.

"Mmph! Mmmmm…" She cried, her panic edging over the clarity in her mind as she heard the sound of her pants being cut. Delicately, the man sawed a horizontal line through her jeans carefully so as not to cut her skin, down the side of her thigh and as far to the back of her leg as he could, then, unable to reach and further, he returned the knife to the starting point and went the opposite direction, meeting the two cuts at the back.

"The more you struggle, the more it'll hurt." He 'tsk'ed, eyes concentrating on his task. Then, he began cutting down her ruined pants leg, opening it down the front until he reached the very bottom, having to crouch down to the floor for the rest. She resisted the urge to kick him, knowing that knife was still held tightly in his hands. And he looked as if he was willing to use it.

Finally cutting it all the way open, he was able to pull the material from her body, leaving her one leg in nothing but improvised shorts. Then, he did the same for the other leg, Lexi trying to cry out the whole time.

As he discarded the second half, Lexi looked down at her now bare thighs, feeling her whole body trembling. His purpose for ruining her jeans was still unknown, and not knowing what was happening was just as frightening as what was actually happening. He returned his attention to her one more, sitting down in the chair.

"Now, let's try this one more time." His soft voice drew her attention. Eyes hard, he positioned the knife above her leg once more. "Do you know who I am?"

Air being pushed and pulled rapidly through her nose, she slowly shook her head, not knowing what this man wanted. Behind her back, she clenched her fists, tensing her body to prepare for whatever pain would come. The cunning look in his eye disappeared, and in its place was that cold fury again.

"LIAR!" He shouted into her face, taking the knife and slashing it across the exposed skin of her thigh.

"MMMMM!" Lexi tried crying out. Her screams obscured the quiet music playing in the background. Her legs squirmed at the intense burning line, hot blood beginning to pour out from the wound. It dripped to either side of her leg, plopping to the concrete floor. Her body twitched, writhing in the wooden chair, the legs of her seat squealing in protest. Tears immediately filled her eyes, sliding down the side of her face on either side of the tape.

The man breathed in a large breath, finally releasing it with an audible 'Ahhhh.' "As much as I enjoy hearing you scream, my dear, I do also like hearing the truth." Her quiet sobs broke through his sentence, with her shaking her head back and forth, over and over, wishing this would all just stop.

He brought the knife back over her skin. "Who am I?" He repeated, holding her gaze. She looked away, knowing that she had never seen this man before in her life. And that was most terrifying.

"Mm dmnm nmm." Her strangled 'I don't know' came out muffled and wrong, but it was the best she could do given the circumstances. Either way, he seemed to understand her meaning. He gave a tired sigh, but grinned nonetheless.

"No, Lexi. Wrong again." The blade slid across her skin once more, this time slower and more pronounced, and she screamed behind the tape. He watched as the blood seeped down her leg and to the floor, the red liquid staining the edge of his blade. Holding up the blade, he inspected it in the light, a few drops dripping from the tip onto the floor. Her screams slowly died away but she simply began crying harder, her whole body shaking from fear and her sobs.

"I do so  _love_  your screams. I wonder what they sound like unhindered." He mused aloud excitedly, eyes glazed over as he imagined it in his head. Feeling like she'd become too quiet for his liking, he positioned the knife once more.

"Why don't we try again, shall we?"

* * *

Before they'd officially left the house, everyone had found flashlights in the basement. Seeing as they were going to be trekking through the dark, these were essential, and Law had both of his men check them all before setting out.

Brittany was still rather shell-shocked, her gaze looking haunted and distant. At least she was still concentrating on driving, instead of running them into a side ditch on either side of the highway. There wasn't much conversation, though. He was content with that. Though, Shachi and Penguin were discussing ways they were going to kill or maim the murderer in the back seat.

Bepo, of course, couldn't fit in the cab of the truck and so he was forced to take up the bed in the back. Thankfully there was no one else around at that time of night, so there wasn't any risk of him being seen.

Brittany drove straight back to the location they had last seen the murderer's car, but this time they went past the point of where they'd turned around, having lost him the first time. The open meadows on either side of the road slowly turned into the heavy forest, tall shadows of trees surrounding them. As agreed upon, they would stop every mile or so, get out and search the woods, just in case there was some sign of the brunette.

They passed a mile marker and Brittany made the decision to stop for the first time. She left the lights of the truck on, in case Lexi somehow stumbled upon it she would have light to see by. Taking their flashlights, and Penguin and Shachi carrying a pistol and rifle with subsequent ammo, they exited the truck and convened in the light of the headlights.

"Brittany-ya and I will take the left side of the forest. I want you two to take the right." He gestured to the opposite side, and the two engineers nodded, tightening their holds on their weapons. Brittany, still unsure of what was really happening, didn't question or make vocal her inane fear. "Bepo, you're with us. I want you to try to track down her scent."

"Yes, Captain!" He saluted again, sniffing the air experimentally. Looking to Brittany, he nodded, and she stepped forward, tugging something out of her pocket. She held out a small phone to Shachi, and he glanced up quizzically.

"It was Nana's cellphone, we'll use it to keep in touch. Law has mine." Giving a criticizing glance at the man, he only raised a brow. Apparently, he still didn't trust her not to call the police. Not that it mattered now.

After she briefly explained how to get into and call her cellphone number, she stepped away, watching as Shachi stuffed it into his pocket. "If you find Lexi, make sure she's safe and call us. We'll meet up with you."

"You have your orders." Law nodded, and the two friends trotted off into the woods, their flashlights switching on. He trusted they'd remain safe.

Without another word, Law set off in the opposite direction, flicking on his own flashlight. Brittany and Bepo followed suit, though she made sure to keep a wide berth from the bear, still not fully trusting him not to bite her face off.

She gave a hopeless sigh, turning on her flashlight and directing it between the trees.

 _'_ _Please,'_  she thought, ' _let her be alright.'_

* * *

"MMMPH! MMM!" She cried, feeling the stinging bite of the knife slice across her skin, though the oozing blood was barely distinguishable from that of the dozens of other knife cuts on both of her legs, ranging anywhere from a few inches above her ankles to right below the line he'd cut in her pants, and varying in size and direction. Below the chair was a rapidly-growing pool of her dark red blood, dripping down onto the floor and some into the tops of her tennis shoes.

The flow of tears had left her face feeling wet and sticky, as the old ones dried and the new ones streaked through their paths.

Her muscles were sore from the awkward positioning on the chair. Adrenaline had eased some of the pain but left her body feeling weak, the shaking becoming more pronounced as time went on. Fighting back the urge to pass out, because who knew what this monster would do if she lost consciousness, she bit the inside of her cheek.

"While I admire your tolerance of pain, this is becoming old rather quickly." The man admitted, a tired sigh escaping his lips. Placing the knife coated in her blood onto his lap, he reached over and held the edge of the duct tape covering her mouth with two fingers, aggressively yanking the strip from her face with a loud  _Riipp!_

She moaned in pain, finally able to breathe probably, sucking in precious breaths to fill her lungs. Her sobbing was loud and unhindered now, and her face stung from the harshly-removed tape.

"P-please…I don't know what you want…" She sobbed, closing her eyes to the pain flooding her legs. He chuckled then, leaning forward towards her face. Too weak to pull away from the hand that gripped her throat, Lexi was force to look closely into his eyes, coming ever closer to her.

"Oh, Lexi. Isn't it obvious? I want  _you."_  He answered, bringing his lips down onto hers without warning. He crushed their mouths together. He pulled away at her whimpers and cries, tilting his head in curiosity. "Isn't this what he did to you? Pulled you close and kissed the pain away?"

Deep in her fuzzy, panic-overloaded brain, she wondered if he were talking about Cooper, or Law. Either way she didn't like the implications. Feeling a bit more courageous, she yanked her face away from his, pulling out of his grip on her chin.

"Don't  _touch_  me!" She spit, glaring steadily at the man. He looked shocked, almost taken aback by her accusation.

"Oh, I'm not going to touch you. I would  _never."_  He scowled, eyes distant as if seeing or recalling something else. "No one should be able to touch you like that bastard.  _Cooper."_  The venom in his voice was genuine, that much she could tell. He hated the man.

"My dear, I'm not going to touch you like that filthy pig of a man did." He gently brushed a stray hair from her face, but she pulled away. "I'm only going to kill you."

Her eyes widened. Inwardly, she already knew that, but to hear him say it directly and with such a sweet tone of voice, it was… _horrifying._

"But first," He leaned away, picking up the knife once more, "I need you to tell me who I am. I'd rather not play this game all night, but if you so insist…" He let the sentence hang, trailing the tip of the knife graze over her previous wounds. They stung, and she winced in pain.

"I…really don't know who you are! I've never seen you before in my life!" She tried getting that point across to him. She expected him to feel the blade glide across another unscathed portion of her skin again, but he only sighed.

"Hmm…" He thought, tapping a finger onto his thigh. "Perhaps it would help for me to give you a hint. Or, rather, a story."

She only watched him, afraid of speaking and sparking his anger again. Pausing for several moments as he pondered this information, he suddenly smiled.

"It was a dark and stormy evening, and my father and I were driving home from the movies." He leaned his head on his hand, recalling the memories. "My father, the kind man that he was, had bought me an ice cream cone. I sat in the back seat eating it, completely content with my 12-year-old life. Everything was happy and cheerful. He played his old music on the radio, singing to the songs he knew, smiling all the while.

"But then, I was jerked against the seatbelt as we slammed into something hard. I couldn't cry, because my breath had been stolen away. Naturally, I'd let go of my ice cream cone, and it was on the floor, melting. I went to tell my father what had happened, but when I looked up, I could tell something was wrong."

Lexi's eyes widened, feeling as if she knew where this was going. This couldn't be happening…He couldn't possibly be…

"No matter how many times I called out to him, he didn't answer. He wouldn't look up, and there was red all over the inside of the windshield. Then, after a long time, someone took me out of the car, and I came to the realization that we'd hit a car. Or, more accurately," He paused, sending an accusing glance her way, "another car had hit us."

He leaned forward then, eyes wild. "So, my dear Lexi, is that enough of a hint for you?"

Her mouth suddenly very dry, she tried to swallow but failed, feeling it catch in her throat. Flashes of memories from years ago filtered through her mind. News articles, news reports, conversations between Nana and reporters…they all came back. As did one aspect of the entire event that had slipped her mind for all those years.

A single name. A young boy. A survivor.

"…Logan…" She breathed out, glancing between his eyes as if trying to disprove that it was. But he smiled wider, stepping away.

"I  _told_  you, you knew who I was all along! You just didn't realize it!" He waltzed around eagerly, finally satisfied that she'd answered the question. However in his elated celebration, he still kept hold of the knife, flashing in the light from above.

"What do you want from me?" She yelled, drawing his attention once more. He skipped around the back of her chair, placing his hands on either side of her face. Logan chuckled, and Lexi felt the warm breath at the back of her neck. She shivered at the feeling.

"What I want, Lexi, is for us to  _die_  together." He whispered. "I want to die with you, just like fate would have wanted us to that day  _so_  many years ago."

"Y-you're crazy." Her voice wavered, eyes darting around the room in fear. Logan remained behind her, though.

"Think about it! The accident happened on the Summer Solstice, a precious day in many religious beliefs. And more than one culture would offer sacrifices to the gods. Surely that is a sign!" He yelled, finally letting go of the chair and returning to walk in front of her. Again, he was wearing that unhinged grin with wide eyes. "Your parents and my father were those sacrifices! And now, you and I will take that place, as we were destined to that day! You, see Lexi, it was  _fate_  that brought us together, and it shall be  _fate_  that dictates our deaths tomorrow."

"T-tomorrow?" She whimpered, watching as he moved over to the table and picked up a rag. He wiped the knife clean, giggling madly as he watched the bright red stains appear on the white cloth.

"Why, of course! Our deaths have to be on the summer solstice!" Once the blade was cleaned, he returned to crouching in front of her, his sick smile in place. "And while I'm  _overjoyed_  to be dying with you, Lexi, this is also a bit of revenge for me as well. You see, because of  _you,"_  He pointed the sharp end of the blade at her face, "my kind father, the only person to ever truly  _love me,_  was taken away."

He gripped the base of her throat then, squeezing, bringing the knife point to rest underneath her chin. She gasped for breath, watching as he gritted his teeth with barely-restrained fury. He closed his eyes, forcibly removing his hand from her neck. She breathed deeply to replenish the lost air.

"But I will bide my time. I will kill us both as fate planned it out. The anniversary of our parents' deaths, and what will quickly be ours as well." He resumed his sadistic smile, finally standing.

"Trust me, I _do_  want to spend more time with you like this," His gaze flitted over the multiple lacerations on her legs, "but you and I have a rather important day tomorrow, and we both must get our rest."

With one more casual grin, he reached above her and turned off the light, plunging Lexi's prison into darkness. It took several moments for her eyes to adjust but by that time he'd already moved to the stairs to go back up.

"Sleep well tonight, my dear, as it will be your last."

Logan chuckled, climbing the steps and pulling the string to the other lightbulb, closing the door behind him. And Lexi was left alone, bleeding, crying, and wincing at the pain, in complete darkness.


	40. Armed and On the Run

If there was one thing that was absolutely clear in Lexi's panic and terror-driven mind, it was that unless she found a way out of this basement and this house, she wouldn't have another chance. Based on what Logan had said, he planned to kill them both tomorrow. Although he didn't say  _when_  exactly, there was a small chance he would leave her alone at any point of the day, least of all alone for enough time for her to escape.

No, if she was going to fight for her life, it had to be now.

Roughly an hour had passed, or at least she thought, since there was no way to tell time down in the dark. She shook, feeling cold and clammy. Her legs felt cold and sticky, the blood drying to coat her skin in the dark red liquid. Some had already crusted, leaving her with the irritating itching sensation.

There had been no noise from upstairs for quite awhile, and she assumed that Logan had fallen asleep. Unfortunately, he'd left the cd player still going in the background, thankfully at a much lower volume than before, but still there at the edge of the room. It was driving her slowly insane, but she ignored the repeated lyrics as much as she could.

Her eyes having adjusted to the darkness, she looked around at the shapes she could make out. The table, too far away to reach from her sitting position, held lots of tools on them. Before, when he'd been torturing her, he'd debating whether he wanted to use his other 'instruments,' as he called them, gently grazing his hands along their sharp edges.

She remembered seeing an old handsaw, on the closest edge of the table to her. Maybe, if she could somehow reach forward, she could reach it.

The chains clinked against one another, reminding her how impossible that would be. She'd never been very flexible, unable to dislocated her shoulder enough to bring her arms around her head like that, so that was out of the question. Her only hope would be to break the chain somehow.

Experimentally, she pulled her hands apart from each other, stressing the links of the chain. It halted immediately, but she couldn't give up now. This was a do or die scenario. She had to try everything. Gritting her teeth against the rough metal against her wrists, she pulled as far apart as she could. It held fast.

Her fingers probed around the cuffs on her wrist, feeling a dry and grated-feeling material on both sides, randomly dispersed. Her eyes widened, realizing that it was probably dried blood from previous victims. The metal was worn away a little, small scratches and indents plainly felt around the cuffs. She tried reaching for the links themselves to try to feel for any imperfections. If the links were worn…

Her eyes widened, feeling a small cut in one of the chain links on the left side. There was some of the crusty feeling on it as well, old dried blood. If the liquid had been there and already dried into such a hardened substance, it must have been there awhile, never washed by her kidnapper. Maybe it had helped weaken the metal some more…

Clutching onto this small hope, Lexi pulled at her hands again, the chain tightening up stiffly. She pulled and pulled, holding her breath to focus of exerting all the effort she could. Between tries she panted hard, hoping to regain her breath before trying all over again.

Over and over she pulled, feeling her energy draining with each try. The loss of blood from her wounds was making her lightheaded and dizzy. But now wasn't the time to be wimping out. Pushing through the pain in her lower body, as well as the quickly-growing pains in her wrists, she continued pulling, her hope lifting when she felt a little bit of give in the chain. Her hands parted another fraction of an inch, just enough to be noticeable but not enough to make much of a difference.

Feeling newfound strength, she clenched her fists and pulled, grunting out at the force she was exerting. Her arms were on fire, the skin around the wrists being pressed painfully into her skin, but still she continued.

Another little bit of chain gave way, then a tiny bit more, until suddenly she heard a little  _snap!_  and the clinking of metal against the floor, her arms springing forward as the tension disappeared behind her back. Gasping in relief, she brought her hands to her chest, cradling the injured wrists in sweet bliss, ignoring the agony of her shoulders as she was allowed to move around once more.

She glanced up, suddenly terrified that Logan had heard the chain break. But there was no sound of footsteps or doors opening, and so she assumed he hadn't awoken. Perhaps the still-playing cd player had a use. It masked small sounds of her trying to escape. That much was appreciated.

After several moments of rotating her shoulders to pop the kinks, she gently laid her hand on one of her exposed legs, wincing and hissing with pain as her fingers touched one of the various cuts.

They'd thankfully stopped bleeding for the most part, but there were still trickles. First things first, as soon as she was free she had to find something to cover her legs. Too much open exposure could lead to serious infection, and she'd rather not have to be an amputee for the res too her life if she could help it.

Looking upwards, Lexi noticed the string dangling down from the lightbulb, debating whether turning on the light to see better would alert Logan to what she was doing. There weren't any windows or anything, so she decided it was worth the risk. Stumbling around in the dark with all these sharp and possibly infectious weapons around wasn't too thrilling of an idea.

Shakily, she began to slowly hoist herself up from the chair, using her hands as leverage to rise.

The pain in her legs increase tenfold, the cuts where the skin moved opening and splitting blood that had already clotted. She panted, gasping in pain, but still held herself upright to wait it out. It would dampen eventually, and finally, when she felt she could move without breaking into tears, she reached up and searched above her for the string.

Grasping it with clammy fingers, she pulled, bathing the area in light once more. Squinting from the sudden change, she looked back over to the table. The assortment of tools and knives were still there. Any hope that he'd somehow forgotten the key to her shackles down here was dashed, not seeing it anywhere in the various metal objects. But she did spot that handsaw on the corner, the handle facing away from her.

Judging the distance, she tried simply bending at the waist and reaching over, but her fingers were about 6 inches short of touching it. Sweat dripped from her forehead, the strength required to simply stand up with her injuries unimaginable. That lightheaded feeling returned, and suddenly she was falling forward, black dots creeping into her vision.

Reacting just in time, she held out her hands to prevent her from face planting loudly into the cement. Her palms stung from the hard impact but otherwise nothin else was injured. Her legs were burning intensely again, but it soon subsided.

Logan had avoided her knees for the most part, and she was able to carefully lean her weight onto them, easing up the tension in her back.

Well, while the fall had been unprecedented, it did place her closer to the table. An ear still listening intently for any sounds upstairs, she reached up and grabbed the saw, inspecting the blade. It was stained in brownish-red, but she tried ignoring that lump in her throat.

With great struggle, she returned to her seated position on the chair, using a lot more upper body strength than usual seeing as her legs were torn up. She was able to sit and turn her attention to the shackles holding her ankles.

At first glance it appeared to be a complicated series of chains, all as one unit, but she rapidly discovered that it was actually three separate cuffs; two holding her ankles around the wooden legs of the chair, and another holding her ankles together. So, she couldn't move them far apart or away from the chair by more than a few inches. It would seem she'd have to saw through each one individually, which meant it would take longer.

Sighing, she leaned down and picked up the chain securing her right leg to the chair. She picked a link in the middle, and held the saw up to it, steadying her grip and praying that it wouldn't be too loud.

She pulled back and forth a few times experimentally, judging the noise level, but was pleased to find that it only produced a scraping sound, not too much louder than the music being played. Thank goodness he'd forgotten to turn it off, because she could work in relative peace.

It took several minutes of sawing, and pausing to make sure Logan hadn't woken up, before she cut through the chain, dragging her leg a ways from the chair. By the time it was free she was sweating profusely, chilling her already cold skin as the moisture dried. But the adrenaline was helping her along, pushing her past the point of giving up as she bent over to work on her left leg.

Lexi's best guess for how long it took to hack through all of the shackles securing her in place was about half an hour. It took a lot longer on the last two, since her exhaustion was beginning to show through. Still, her heart leapt as she pulled the legs apart, finally free from all of the chains holding her down.

She quietly placed the saw on the ground, panting from all of her hard work, slowly easing out of the chair and laying face up on the concrete floor. The pool of her blood had long dried, but she could really care less at this point if some of it got on her. She was just thankful to be out of those chains.

* * *

"Lexi?" Brittany called, her flashlight searching the darkness for any sign of her friend. Law was a few feet away, directing his attention in another direction so they didn't miss anything. Bepo walked several yards ahead, nose alternating between the ground and the air, but he hadn't picked up a possible scent yet.

The forest was just as thick further into it, but not that condensed to prevent finding a path around the fallen and tilted tree trunks. Stray branches and leaves crunched under their feet, and every once in awhile Brittany could swear something furry brushed past her legs, but after awhile thoughts of her missing friend trumped any spooky feeling the dark forest was giving her.

They hadn't heard anything from Penguin and Shachi, unfortunately. And the other three's search wasn't going much better.

"It's been about half an hour." Law finally said, pulling out Brittany's phone to check the time. He'd had to ask her how the buttons worked so he could. She gave him a glance at his words and sighed.

"I guess we should make our way back? Go up a little further and search more?" He nodded, giving the area one last sweep before directing them back towards the way they'd come.

* * *

Lexi gave herself some time to rest from the energy spent cutting through shackles. She'd almost had a moment of heart-stopping horror when she'd realized her eyes began drooping, the welcome tendrils of sleep beckoning her to just rest on the floor. Remembering what was at stake, she sat up straight, rubbing her eyes to dismiss that tired feeling. Falling asleep now would surely mean her death.

Her next priority was to find something to cover her legs with. Eyeing the ruined remains of her pants tossed carelessly into a corner with disappointment, she doubted she could make any use of them. Her eyes drifted over the table of assorted tools, spotting the towel Logan had used to wipe her own blood off of his blade.

A white kitchen towel, red streaks dried on one side. It would have to do.

She had no water or other liquid to really clean her leg, so she simply crawled forward and reached for it, pleasantly surprised to find that it was actually two towels stacked on top of one another. Good, she could cover both of her legs, then.

She wrapped the towels around her thighs. The material only reached a little past her knees but it was the best thing she had available. And she could really care less on how attractive it looked. If it meant she wouldn't die from any other blood loss or infection, she would wear a trash bag for all she cared.

Using the duct tape from the table to secure the towels around her legs, Lexi double checked that they wouldn't fall off, tying an extra piece all the way around just in case, because she would be running out of here, wherever here actually was, and the last thing she needed was having two unsecured pieces of fabric around her legs slowing her down.

She stood, testing her makeshift bandages and the strength of her legs, wobbling a little but maintaining her upright position. Then, stopping, she looked at the opposite edge of the table, spotting a very familiar and infinitely useful object.

Her cellphone. Logan must have confiscated it when he'd abducted her.

She snatched it greedily, pressing the home button. The screen lit up, indicating that it was 2:34 in the morning. Her elation soon deflated, seeing the irritating 'No Service' message right below the number pad.

 _'_ _Dammit, I guess not everything could go so right.'_  She thought bitterly.

The last thing the brunette could think of needing before attempting her true escape from the house was a weapon. There was no way in hell she'd be running away from this bastard unarmed. And in his arrogance or overconfidence, he'd left her with a literal display of her options. How nice of him, she thought darkly.

Lexi perused the weapons on the table, finally settling on a long filet knife that looked like it was used for fish. It was long and sharp, and comforting to hold in her hands. Then, deciding that maybe it would be better for everyone this way, she grabbed a tiny pocket knife as well, stuffing it into her back pocket.

The shaking was reduced to a minimum, but it still remained, a testament to her prevalent fear and exhaustion. Ignoring this, she pushed away from the table. A quick double check ensured that there weren't any other useful items laying around the room, and she turned her attention to the stairs with a deep breath.

There was no turning back now.

* * *

Law had called the others on Brittany's phone ordering them to return to the vehicle so they could regroup and continue further up the road in search of their missing friend. They'd agreed, and after too long Law and the others all met up back at the truck.

"We didn't see any sign of her around. Just some stray trash and an old backpack." Shachi reported. At first they'd thought it to be Lexi's bag, but judging by the degradation of the material and the rotting things on the inside, it had been there a lot longer than when Lexi had gone missing.

"We found similar results. No sign, and Bepo couldn't pick up a scent." Law agreed. Brittany sighed, running a tired hand through her hair.

"There's gotta be something soon. I know Lexi. If she could, she'd put up a fight. There's gotta be something." She reaffirmed, and Law looked to her. For just having lost her best friend and a sort of adoptive grandmother, Brittany was holding together remarkably well. Perhaps she was simply the type to remain calm in a desperate situation, which worked well in his favor. It wouldn't do to have her break down crying in the middle of the woods.

Content to keep moving, everyone piled back into the truck. It was then that the first droplets of rain began to fall. Law looked to the sky with worry, knowing that Bepo's use of his nose to track the missing woman would be severely hindered if it began to rain heavily.

He only hoped it would hold off long enough for them to find her.

* * *

Lexi stared at the door to the basement, swallowing several times before slowly placing her hand onto the knob. This was it. The chances were, if she got caught trying to escape, he'd simply kill her where she stood. After all, it was technically 'tomorrow.'

Gulping once more, then taking several deep breaths to try to calm the tension in her stomach, she turned the knob steadily, pushing it open inch by inch. Her heart leapt. He hadn't locked it, thankfully. It seemed Logan's own sense of perfection and overconfidence was playing to her favor. He thought that she'd have no chance of escape, so he neglected to take the precautions to keep it that way. She smiled gratefully.

Peering into the room outside, she spotted a washer and dryer directly in front of her. The rest of the house was dark as well, hopefully meaning that everyone inside was asleep. She hadn't heard any noise from upstairs, and she took that as a good sign. Easing the door open a little more, it didn't make a sound and Lexi gently released the knob, taking a measured and careful step onto the tile. Her shoes left small bloodstains on the floor, but that was the least of her worries. If she were successful, she'd be long gone by the time anyone discovered them anyways.

Her legs burned with every step. Underneath the fabric of the towels, she could feel several cuts begin to bleed again, but there wasn't much she could do to prevent that. Lexi tried her best to simply cope with the pain.

Stepping into the laundry room, she peered to her left, seeing only a washroom with a small tiled corner set off to clean dirtied shoes. To her left, down the hall, was a kitchen by the looks of it. Gripping the knife, she silently crept into the home-style kitchen, eyes glancing out the window above the sink.

At the sight of the many trees surrounding the clearing of the property, she almost sobbed. They were in the countryside, whatever countryside it may be. They could be anywhere, miles and miles in the forest or even across state lines for all she knew. This may now even be West Virginia anymore.

Turning away, she glanced around and spotted another open doorway. This one led to a walk-in pantry. Ignoring it, she turned the opposite way and found a bigger hallway with wood panel flooring.

It was windy outside, and she could hear the tiny taps of the first droplets of rain trickling onto the roof. Maybe it would give her a big of cover noise to mask any sounds she made. Heart pounding in her throat, she continued to follow the hallway until she found an open foyer, the front door within her sights.

Forcing a slow and silent breath to prevent her from running full pelt at her ticket out of there, she kept to the edge of the walls where the floor was less likely to creak beneath her feet. To her right was a staircase leading to the floor above. The wooden steps looked almost black in the darkness of the house, the railing a thin dark metal.

There was an open archway into another room to her left, and she glanced in, freezing when she saw a foot peeking over the cushion of a couch. Lexi's eyes widened. Her first thought was that it was Logan, but the skin of whoever the foot belonged to looked wrinkled and old, so she assumed it was someone else.

Maintaining those steady, careful steps all the way to the door, Lexi's hands rose to grasp the lock. Her breathing was unsteady and forced through her nose, careful so as not to breathe too loudly. With tense fingers, she slowly twisted the lock right, the metal tumbler within the door giving a tiny  _click_  sound as it was ejected from the lock.

Almost able to taste the fresh air of freedom outside, she gripped the knob and turned it slowly, pulling the door open towards her.

 _CREAK!_  The rusted hinges of the door gave a loud and definite squeak, making the brunette's heart stop. In the empty air of the house, it was ear-splitting, the weight of it ripping through her chest like a bullet.

Instantly, she heard a heavy thump upstairs. Adrenaline suddenly pumped fully into her system, Lexi abandoned any attempt at remaining quiet and run full speed out the door and over the steps of the wooden porch. The knife clutched in her hands felt heavy, but she gripped it tightly and held it close.

"NO!" She heard Logan scream, but the rest of what he'd said was lost beneath the blood rushing through her own ears and the crunch of gravel and twigs beneath her shoes. The sparse grass close to the house was becoming slick from the light rain, and she feared her low-traction shoes would betray her.

Injured legs be damned, she ran as fast as her feet would take her, not bothering to look back to see if Logan was gaining or chasing her at all. Gasping and sobbing, she closed the distance between her and the thick tree line, a semblance of shelter within the dense and dark forest.

"LEXI!" He called, his voice still far away but still close enough to cause her to cry out in fear. Pushing past the burning pain throughout her whole body, and ignoring the freezing drops of water as they hit her face, she plunged into the mass of trees.

* * *

This was their third stop. The previous two had shown no results or indication of where the man had taken their friend, but neither Law nor Brittany was willing to give up just yet. It may be past 3 in the morning, but no one really felt tired at all.

As before, the groups split into teams of Shachi and Penguin patrolling one side of the road, and then Brittany, Law, and Bepo on the other.

Though they tried no to show it, Law could tell that the others were beginning to lose hope. No sign of the brunette after several hours of searching was admittedly very disheartening, but the pirate wasn't willing to simply call it a night and return home. Hell, he'd make everyone stay out in the woods that night if he had to. The rain still teased them, not quite a downpour but the soft trickle it had been before had become stronger. They were now all pretty much soaked after being outside so long.

But these didn't deter Law. No matter what it took, he'd find her.


	41. The Hunt

Brittany brought the phone to her ear again, glancing up at Law as the line began to ring dully. Just as before, it rang for a few moments before the automated voice message played again, stating that the number she'd called was not available. Tears pricking at the corners of her eyes, the black-haired woman ended the call again, stuffing it back in her pocket.

"Still nothing." She sighed, and Law turned away to continue searching.

Brittany had tried Lexi's phone over and over, hoping beyond hope that her friend would pick up. It was worth the shot, even though the rational part of her mind knew it was pretty much futile. Most kidnappers knew enough to take away their victim's phone, unfortunately.

"Anything yet, Bepo" The man called to the bear still leading the way ahead. Pausing in his sniffing, the bear shook his head.

"No, Captain. Nothing so far." With a silent nod in understanding, Law sighed as well. Bepo returned his attention to what was in front of him.

The dark sky, once pitch black at the beginning of their search, was beginning to show signs of a lighter blue, an indication that before too long the sun would be coming up.

They'd been searching all night but still no sign of the kidnapper, Lexi, or the red sedan. Feeling hopeless again, Brittany pulled out her phone, redialing the number she'd just called, pressing it to her ear in desperation. Maybe, just maybe, this time would work…

* * *

 _'_ _Just run.'_  Lexi thought, her heavy breathing the only thing audible over the quickly growing storm. The rain, a trickle just before, was now quite the drizzle, soaking her to the bone and adding weight to the towels around her legs.

She hadn't checked behind her to see how close Logan might be, nor did she particularly want to, though she hadn't heard his screams of anger in awhile. The forest was thick, barely a path to be found in the dense thicket of trees and bushes. With her calves and arms exposed, the already torn-up skin was scratched and poked by stray branches and rocks.

Ignoring these new injuries as much as possible, she pushed past the burning sensation in her lungs. She'd never been very fast in P.E, nor could she boast about her endurance, and those flaws were beginning to show, a rather painful stitch in her side slowing her down with each labored puff of air.

Finally, after running for what seemed to Lexi like days, she dared a glance back, not seeing or hearing anything behind her in the trees. The rain had been a welcome addition, as much as it sucked, because the sound masked any noise she might have made running through the forest. As far as she knew, Logan had given up chasing her complete, though an inkling of doubt remained. He was crazy, probably crazy enough to keep looking for her even in these weather conditions in the middle of the night.

Her pace slowed, ultimately spent from the pain leeching away at her stamina, as well as the need to run. She placed her back to a wide tree, keeping her grip on the filet knife tight, just in case. With Logan, she didn't want to take any risks.

Sucking in huge breaths, she lowered herself to the ground, giving her aching legs a break. The soles of her feet were numb from the constant pounding against the uneven and hazardous forest floor. Unseen rocks and twigs poked out in the darkness, and occasionally, her ankle would land sideway to the dirt. Thankfully she hadn't suffered a fractured, sprained, or broken ankle yet, but with her running full pelt that could change very quickly.

Suddenly, there was several vibrating buzzes in her back pocket, and her eyes widened. Could it be? She hastily dug out her cell phone, turning on the screen. Yes! She'd reached a point where there was cellphone reception. It was weak, wavering between one and two bars, but it was there, and she smiled widely, hugging the device to her chest. She'd never felt so relieved before.

Then, she noticed that there were 12 missed calls from Brittany…all less than half an hour ago! The newest one was only missed by four minutes. Without reception they wouldn't go through, and so she hadn't felt the phone vibrate indicating she had received one. Chest heaving with emotion, she shielded her screen with one hand, tapping the call back button eagerly.

Giving an anxious glance around the trunk of the tree, she still saw no sign of her pursuer, but she didn't want to chance it. Feeling like her pain wouldn't go away no matter how long she rested, she struggled to her feet once more and started walking forwards.

The phone buzzed only once, the frantic voice of Brittany on the other line.  _'Oh my god, Lexi? Is that you!?'_  The brunette was so relieved to hear her friend's voice, she laughed out loud, on the verge of tears.

"Y-yeah, Brit it's me." She cried, pushing past a large rock set against a tree. Her sobs came out freely now, so happy to not feel so alone. "Shit, you don't know how great it is to hear your voice."

_"_ _Are you in danger? Did you escape?"_

"I got away. I'm out in the woods somewhere, but he might be following me."

"T _here's a lot I want you to say and tell me, but right now just shut up and tell us where you are. We're out in the woods too, looking for you right now."_  Still pushing through the trees, she glanced around, not seeing any significant landmark. There were just more trees.

"I don't know, just in the middle of the trees. I'm going to try to find a landmark or road or something." A particularly sharp bush scraped against her leg, causing her to gasp sharply. "Shit, that hurts."

 _"_ _Did he do anything to you? Like, you know…"_  She paused, her meaning nonetheless clear.

"No, he didn't. He just…cut me."

 _"_ _What do you fucking mean he cut you!?"_  The sudden anger wasn't all too surprising from Brittany, who was probably partially blaming herself for Lexi's disappearance.  _"That fucker is dead when I see him! DEAD!"_  She shouted in the phone, and Lexi had to hold it away from her ear so as not to burst her eardrum.

There was a loud snap somewhere behind her, not caused by Lexi's footfalls, and she spun around, staring in horror into the trees. In the darkness she couldn't see anyone but no movement caught her eye, her eyes flicked around.

"Brit?" She whispered, into the phone. "I think he's nearby." She stood still, trying to listen for any other movement over the sound of the rain.

 _"_ _Lexi? Talk to me!"_  Brittany said, but she ended the call, too afraid that her voice would carry enough for Logan to hear it. The sky wasn't as dark as before, which started to make moving through the brush easier. Heart pumping in her chest, she carefully began moving away from where the sound had come.

* * *

"Lexi? Lexi!" Brittany shouted into the phone, eyes raking over the screen and seeing the 'Call Ended' message across the top. "Dammit! We have to find her. That bastard is somewhere out here with us." She angrily placed the phone back in her pocket, finding a new sense of purpose to their search.

"Bepo, we know she's out here somewhere." Law said. "I know the rain is making things difficult but I need you to find her scent. It's the only way we'll be able to track her down in these woods."

"Aye, Captain!" The bear lifted his nose higher, as if the extra height would make the difference between smelling nothing and picking up her distinct scent.

Law turned to Brittany. "Call Shachi-ya and Penguin-ya, we are going to reconvene at the road and search from there. Perhaps we can meet her when she hits a road, or see any useful landmarks she might come across."

Nodding at the logic, she pulled the device out once more, following Law back towards the road to meet up with the group.

* * *

As luck would have it, Lexi  _did_  stumble across a road. The highway, in fact. The edge of the tree line came quickly, and she almost fell when she found herself on even ground again. Glancing behind her, she could still hear the faint popping of someone tromping through the leaves and branches. And then, his voice floated through the forest, hauntingly.

"Leeeexxxxiiiii!" He called in a singsong voice. "Come out, come out, wherever you are! You can't hide forever!"

Her heart dropping at the sickly sweet lilts to his tone, she frantically searched for anywhere to hide. Simply running parallel to the road wouldn't help. He'd instantly see her out in the open where there wasn't any cover. There was more forest across the road. And then, the familiar sign caught her eye.

_Rivermouth Cave, 1.5 miles._

It was a green road sign she'd passed so many times before. The same one place she'd found the wandering pirates, almost running them over. That was the landmark she needed.

Booking it across the road, she dashed once more into the thick foliage, her newfound discovery setting a new pace to her steps. The faster she could reach the cave, the sooner she could find her friends.

* * *

"Lexi's alive, somewhere in these woods. She called us, and the murderer is chasing her. She doesn't have much time left." Brittany panted, sprinting up to the truck just as Shachi and Penguin emerged from the trees. At her words they perked up, eyes bright.

"Really? Where is she?"

"All she could tell us was somewhere in the woods. There are no markers anywhere, so that could mean just about anything." Law said in frustration. Just then, Brittany's eyes widened and she dug into her pocket furiously, pulling out her phone.

"Lexi?" It seemed the brunette was able to call again. She put the phone on speaker, so they could all hear.

 _"_ _Rivermouth cave!"_ She cried, panting hard like she was running.  _"Rivermouth cave! I'm going there!"_

It took several seconds before it finally clicked in the black-haired woman's head. River mouth cave. They'd gone hiking through there before, last summer. The men looked utterly confused, unsure of what the brunette was trying to say, but Brittany understood. She straightened up, a wide smile taking over her face.

"I got it! We're coming to get you!" The line clicked dead, Lexi having hung up, and she ran towards the driver door. "I know where she's going! Come on!"

They all piled in eagerly, finally getting a clue as to where to go.

* * *

Lexi was running on her last reserves of strength, her injuries beginning to take their toll on her body. All of her muscles ached. The parts of her legs not protected were torn to shreds, either by Logan's doing or the forest itself. They stung constantly, and she could feel trickles of blood running down her leg. The rain washed it away before it could really stay long though.

No matter how hard she tried fighting her rapidly-approaching exhaustion and inevitable collapse, she could feel herself tiring much too quickly for her liking.

Her half-sprint was reduced to a steady jog. Then, that steady jog to a struggled trot. And now, nothing more than a fast walk. Her breathing came out raggedy and heavy, her lungs fighting to suck in the much-needed oxygen. And even that hurt. Her mouth was dry, her eyes were itchy and probably red. She was running out of steam quick.

Still, she pushed on, knowing that it perhaps meant her life was betting on her getting to that cave. Brittany and the others would be there waiting, and she'd be safe. Law and Shachi and Penguin and maybe even Bepo would protect her, they'd keep her safe, they'd stop Logan and everything would be ok again.

Except it wouldn't. In all the horror of the past 8 hours or so, she'd almost completely forgotten what had happened, who had been taken from her already. She hadn't even had the time to properly grieve, and suddenly she was forced to run for her very life, dodging tree trunks and leaping over boulders.

Eyes burning with unfallen tears, Lexi pushed on at her much slower pace, heart feeling heavier than before.

"I'll find you eventually, Lexi!" Logan called, his voice a little closer than before, sending a shiver down her spine.

The sign had said a mile and a half from the road. Anytime now she'd come across the river running directly in front of the cave, or the dirt path that lead parallel to it. One half of the sky quickly becoming a lighter blue as morning approached, lighting her path a bit more.

There! She spotted a curved dirt path several yards ahead, and she instantly switched directions to the left once she reached it. Recognizing this portion of the path, she knew that the cave was only another ten or so minute walk from where she was. Hope rekindled in her soul, and she tried pushing faster, but her tired limbs wouldn't let her. The dirt path, now reduced to mud in the rain, squelched beneath her tennis shoes. She slid around a little, not quite able to find purchase in the new ground.

"I grow tired of chasing you, Lexi!" Logan's voice called behind her, the distinct crash of a branch distinguishable above the rain. He'd gained ground. "You can't run away from fate!"

* * *

"It's here!" Brittany said, pointing to the green road sign pointing towards the beginnings of a dirt path in the trees with the name 'Rivermouth Cave.' "She's going there."

They all scrambled out of the vehicle, grabbing flashlights and their weapons. Bepo clambered out from the back of the truck, sticking his nose into the air, knowing his job was about to come into play. Catching something faint even in the heavier rain, he tilted his head. Law, recognizing that gesture instantly, felt a spark of hope.

"What do you smell?" He questioned, and Bepo sniffed again to be sure he was sure.

"I smell…Lexi, and someone else. She's afraid, but I can't tell the other person. They just smell like blood." He growled, staring off into the trees.

"Follow it as best you can."

* * *

She had to have a lot of good karma saved up, because Lexi made it to the cave without Logan catching up to her. He'd called out to her, always sounding closer and closer each time, but she'd spotted the familiar rock formations and found that last bit of strength to sprint towards them.

As it always did when it rained heavily, the mouth of the cave was transformed into a sort of waterfall. An indentation on top of the rocks pooled the water together, and when it overflowed, it would create a curtain of rain over the entrance, meeting up with the river in front of it and flowing downstream.

She plunged through the streams of water, stumbling on the suddenly hard floor of the cave. It was pitch black inside, though that was beneficial to her. She'd be harder to spot from outside, in case Logan wandered by.

Her breath hard and painful, she placed her back to the wall, sliding down to sit on the floor. No longer needing to run, she found herself unable to move another inch. The grip on her knife loosened, her fingers numb and too weak to hold onto it any longer.

Feeling sharp pains from her legs, she looked down at the dripping wet towels still tightly wrapped around her thighs with duct tape. It had held up remarkably well, but now the added weight was putting pressure on the wounds, causing more pain.

Carefully, she unwrapped the duct tape from the towels, now stained red in blotches from her blood seeping through. Gently pulling away the cloths, she looked at the cuts, now plainly visible from the old blood washed off.

Having nothing to be absorbed into, the cuts began to bleed freely again, trickles of the liquid falling to either side of her leg. She took off the other makeshift bandage and gave a relieved gasp. With the pressure no longer there, it was a bit more manageable.

Staring at the wall opposite her, Lexi felt her eyelids droop a little. She'd made it. Now all she had to do was wait.


	42. A Little Game of Hide and Seek

At first, there were a few times Lexi heard Logan calling out her name with a deranged laugh, tromping through the brush angrily. After awhile, however, she could no longer hear anything besides the downpour of rain and the splashing of water against the cave's entrance.

She gained her breath back, resting inside the mouth of the cave, but now found it practically impossible to move a single limb. The burnout from running and the excess of adrenaline coursing through her body all night had taken its toll. Even shifting in place ached something fierce.

Her pants of fatigue had quieted down to ragged breaths, her lungs still burning in her chest. Whole body soaked thoroughly, the water began to chill as the cooler air within the cave began to settle. Unable to feel her fingers or toes to any extent, she simply waited for either Law and his group, or Logan, to finally find her.

Eyes closing, her hands skimmed a few inches around beside her for the fishing knife, closing her hand over the grip once more, as that last thought penetrated her tired mind. Logan. If he was the one who found her first, she'd at least attempt to get a stab in before he killed her.

Vision swimming, she allowed her head to loll to the side. Her injuries and the prolonged blood loss were the most worrying part. While she never really got a good look at how large the puddle of her blood in the basement had become, she knew that humans could only survive 2 or 3 pints of blood loss in the worst conditions. She'd easily lost at least 1 pint, looking down at all of the numerous cuts. She just hoped it wasn't too much more than that.

Because if they couldn't get her to the hospital for treatment soon, she my just bleed out in this very cave.

Outside, she heard the familiar snapping of branches and the crunch of shoes. With the darkness in the cave and the ever-flowing curtain of water blocking the entrance, she couldn't make out shapes or figures very well. Was it Law or Logan? Lexi couldn't tell. Swallowing thickly, the rational part of her brain concluded that it was better to be prepared for the worst, instead of mistake her would-be killer as a friend.

Then, she saw the figure move in front of the cave, running straight for the entrance. It was a man, that was for sure. It wasn't Brittany. Whoever it was was much taller than her friend.

Swallowing thickly, she prepared for whoever may walk through the entrance, holding the small knife up at the ready.

* * *

Law ahead of the rest of the group, he rounded the last corner and spotted the familiar-looking cave up ahead. The same one his men had stumbled out of in confusion, rain pouring down and soaking them to the bone. Sword leaning against his shoulder, he glanced around for any sign of Lexi but found none. There was no one around. Perhaps they'd gotten there first.

Panting from their jog through the forest, he directed his attention to the ground, searching the area for any footprints or signs of someone having been there. The river's flow was faster than when Lexi had brought them to look around for a way back home, the rain rising the water level. It obscured one section of the path, but a part still remained in tact, though excessively muddy.

Peering around, he spotted three prints running towards the mouth of the cave. The rain hadn't yet washed them away, so they couldn't have been too old. Widening his search, he also found another set of prints, these ones much larger in size than the others, running perpendicular off to the left. The man who'd taken her must be close as well.

Deciding to follow the smaller prints, Law's eyes rose up to see the mouth of the cave covered by a waterfall, cascading over the entrance and carving a path back into the river flow. He unsheathed his sword, holding it out at the ready in case the man had managed to loop around and find his way there, hiding in wait.

Edging closer to the cave, he pushed past the water and stepped inside. Then, his instincts kicked in, causing him to jump back, barely dodging the small knife swipe aimed at his legs. Brandishing his sword, he stepped in again, pointing it towards whoever had attacked him. In the darkness it was hard, to see, but he squinted to get a better look.

"L-Law?" A hoarse feminine voice cried. He sheathed his sword, dropping besides the woman leaning against the wall in the next instant and letting his sword fall to the side with a clatter.

"I-" She started sobbing, letting the knife fall from her pale hands. "I thought you were him."

"It's alright, Lexi-ya." He reassured, kneeling close enough to allow the tired brunette to hold him close. He wrapped a hand gently around her head, pulling her closer to his chest. My god, she was freezing. Her skin was like ice under his touch. Feeling her small figure shake within his arms, he brushed strands of wet hair out of her face, too soaked to feel the tears that she cried into his hoodie.

Feeling his knees begin to ache, he shifted position, but stopping when Lexi let out a choked cry of pain. He released her, looking down where his knee had touched.

Her legs were shredded, cuts running vertically all along the exposed skin of her calves and thighs. They bled all over, and Law's eyes widened. His trained medical eye, inspecting the cuts critically, he turned back to her. "Did you run through the forest like this?"

She shook her head, looking over to her left. "I tied those around my legs to protect them." He followed her gaze, spotting two white and red towels wrapped in duct tape lying a feet few away, sopping wet. They were more red than white, a testament to the amount of blood she'd already lost. Directly behind his clinical worry about the possibility of her bleeding out was the intense anger building up. He didn't quite like others thinking they could touch or hurt those he considered friends. Especially his crew. And since he'd extended the offer to the brunette, she was warranted the same respect and protection.

"I've lost…a lot of blood." She admitted, closing her eyes tiredly. "Everything feels cold." With Law here she felt infinitely safer, and the urge to sleep rose up from the recesses. Feeling a hand on her cheek, she opened them again, peering into Law's concerned face.

"As a medical student you should know that sleeping at a time like this would not be wise." She sighed, feeling the tiny bit of warmth that his hand provided her.

"I know…it's just so hard…I ran so far…" She coughed, the action making her spasm.

"Then rest, but don't sleep. The others aren't too far behind." He said softly, brushing his thumb across her cheekbone. Sitting her beside her, he felt an immense relief flood through his body, finally finding her safe. Well, at least not dead. She was still in danger of bleeding out. Pulling away from her, he lifted the wet hoodie above his head, exposing his tattooed chest in the cold air. It hadn't really been providing any essential body heat anyways. Law didn't need it. He twisted the material to get as much moisture out of it as possible, before laying it across her legs to cover them.

Lexi seemed to remember something important then, and her eyes shot open, body tense. "Logan is still out there somewhere. He's got a knife."

"I know. As soon as the others arrive, I'm going after him." He finished, staring out the water falling over the entrance of the cave, watching for movement.

"He's crazy…Be careful." She muttered, pushing past the pain in her muscles to reach for his hand. It rested on the rock floor a few inches from her, and she managed to press her cold fingers to his, drawing his attention back up to her. She only smiled gratefully.

Strangely caught by her gaze, he couldn't look away. Her eyes were alight, though obviously tired, as she looked to him. Voices coming from outside forced his attention to the noise, seeing as several figures and an orange and white mass made their way into the clearing. Law stood, Lexi's fingers sliding off from his as moved to the entrance again.

"In here!" He called, standing halfway out of the curtain of water and waving a hand, gaining their attention. Brittany was the first to pass through the entrance, eyes scanning the inside until she found Lexi.

"Oh my god I thought you were dead!" She cried, tossing her flashlight to the side and dropping to her knees, catching her friend in a tight embrace. A stream of unintelligible words erupted from the black-haired woman's mouth, interrupted only by her gasps of air and choked sobs. The brunette, too tired to protest that she was squeezing too hard, simply accepted the gesture, struggling to breathe.

Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo all passed under the water, greeting Lexi with relieved smiles and words of support. She nodded slowly, her eyes becoming heavier by the second. Law, twisting and wringing out his hat, turned to his men, suddenly all business.

"Shachi-ya, I want you to stay here and guard these two." He pointed towards the women, and the engineer nodded. "Penguin-ya, Bepo and I will track down Logan-ya."

"Oh, hell no." Brittany suddenly rose, crossing her arms. "I'm going with you to take this bastard down so I can give him a piece of my mind." She snarled, daring Law to disagree with her glare alone. The pirate regarded her cooly.

"So you'll leave your friend wounded in a cold, dark cave?" He shot back, seeing her moment of hesitation. It was low of him, but he'd rather deal with Logan on his own, without the presence of a woman who may find what he intended to do to him inhumane or disgusting.

"Law." Lexi called softly, and he turned to her sitting figure. "Let her go. It's alright."

It seemed she had registered his reason for doubt. Lexi gave a little grin, probably quite aware of the things he'd do to the man who'd cut her legs to shreds. Glancing between the two women, he eventually nodded, and Lexi spoke up again.

"Brittany, take this knife." She pointed towards the long and thin blade she'd almost sliced Law with, and Brittany stooped down to pick it up. "It's not much but it's all I have."

"It'll do. I'm sure I'll put it to good use." She grinned wickedly, all sorts of fitting punishments dancing through her head.

Law went to place his hat on his head, but hesitated, watching as Lexi's hands fidgeted from worry and the last vestiges of her fear. The woman was terrified, probably of something bad happening to them, though that was unlikely. Still, she'd probably sit there and fret until they returned. Sighing gently, he walked over and placed the hat onto her wet hair, surprising her. She pushed the fuzzy brim up to look at him through wide eyes.

"What-" She started, but he was already walking back to the entrance, stooping to pick up his abandoned sword from the rock floor.

"Let's get going. Bepo, see if you can track his scent." He ordered the bear, walking out into the rain with Brittany and Penguin trailing behind. Shachi watched his friends and Brittany leave, crossing over from the other side of the cave to sit beside the injured Lexi.

"Hey, you must be pretty important to Captain if he gave you his hat!" The engineer grinned, checking the pistol he'd taken from the house to be sure it was still fully loaded.

"Why?" She asked meekly, folding onto the damp fuzzy thing on her head. Despite it being wet, it was still strangely comforting. The inside was warm, from Law's own head perhaps.

"He's always had that hat. It's something special to him. Won't go anywhere without it." Clicking the safety off, he closed the chamber and peered through the waterfall, watching as the figures of the group slowly disappeared back into the woods.

* * *

"Hmm…it's a bit hard to distinguish…" The bear said, sniffing once or twice more as he sniffed the footprints in the mud Law had found earlier. "But I can still pick it up."

"Lead the way." The captain said, brushing some of his hair out of his face. Without his hat in place the rain now made him squint to see, whereas his brim had successfully blocked out most of the rain from his eyes.

Brittany and Penguin took up the rear of the group, talking quietly. She glanced around them every so often, scanning behind them in case Logan was actually trailing them instead. Penguin, grip tight on the rifle he'd taken from the house, conversed with Brittany but maintained eye contact with the forest, never dropping his guard.

Bepo kept his nose to the ground in front, concentrating on finding Logan. More of the sky had lightened, making it easier to see in the forest. Law kept a close eye on the trees around them, listening intently for any strange noises not made by the group.

* * *

Logan crouched behind a tree, peering through the thick downpour of rain for any sign of Lexi. Damn it all! He gritted his teeth, pounding his fist into the wet bark. How could he be so careless? How had she gotten away? Stupid, stupid…

"Our game of hide and seek has been fun, my dear, but the fun is over." He shouted into the rain.

It had to be today, they had to die today. But she was nowhere to be found. Early on, he'd sworn he could hear her running through the trees, whimpering in pain and exhaustion, but how in the world had she escaped his grasp? She was injured, losing blood…

How had she managed to get out of those shackles? There hadn't been a key in the basement with her, the only one sat dangling on a chain around his neck. It shouldn't be possible!

Anger bubbling in him, he rose, slowly pacing in no particular direction. He'd find her. He had to, whilst it was still raining, for the sacrifice to work. It had rained that day the accident happened. It had to be raining now. Still, he trudged on, a dark aura surrounding him.

Yards of rope coiled around his chest, he'd hoped that once he found her he could then tie her to a tree and slice open her torso, watching the blood drain and her face grow pale. Now, that seemed more and more unlikely, but he could still hope. Blade of the kitchen knife gleaming in his left hand, he pulled out the pistol from his back pocket, clicking off the safety. If he couldn't get close enough to kill her with a knife, he could do it from a distance this way. As long as she died, that was what mattered.

But it was more than irritating that he couldn't feel the life leave her, clutch her throat as she took her final breath, eyes full of fear and terror. He couldn't get off that way. It wasn't as fun, not as enjoyable to be close as death overtook his victims.

Too lost in his own thoughts, he didn't hear the figure slowly approach from behind him, nor did he see the barrel of the gun until it was pressed up against the back of his head.

"Found you." A male voice said, stilling Logan's movement. Surprise widened his eyes, but as the situation finally sank in, a wicked smile slowly played out across his lips.

So, this was how it was going to be…


	43. No Longer One Piece

**WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS GRAPHIC VIOLENCE AND SCENES OF TORTURE. READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION.**

**I've included page breaks where the graphic torture scenes are, in case you would like to skip them. These scenes are purely for one's personal enjoyment (if you're into that sort of thing) and contain no essential info for the story to move along.**

* * *

"Found you." The male voice said, pressing the end of the gun into the back of his head. Logan stilled, holding up his hands still clutching the knife and pistol up in apparent surrender.

"Well, isn't this awkward." He chuckled, grinning madly. Oh, how much they underestimated him. It was almost laughable, really. They had no idea.

"Turn around." The voice said, and Logan slowly began to spin to face his adversary. Grin in place, he saw a man in a white suit, pointing the business end of a long rifle straight between his eyes.

"Hmm, I've not met you before. What was your name?" His chuckle permeated the thick air. Whoever this man was didn't look too amused. In fact, it was difficult to see quite what he was feeling with that Penguin hat hiding his eyes. Could he even see properly? There was a rustle behind the hatted man, and Lexi's friend approached, looking rather angry and holding a knife, and a familiar one at that.

"Oh, Brittany, was it? I see you've found one of my knives. It's not polite to take things that aren't yours. I'd appreciate it if you gave it back now." His continuous smile made her scowl.

"Put the gun down." The man with the gun demanded, gesturing with his head over to the hand Logan carried the pistol.

"Alright, no need to be so stiff. Lighten up! All I did was give her a few scratches." He reasoned with a mutter, crouching down ever so slowly to place the weapon by his feet. The barrel of the gun followed him on the way down, not taking any chances. Though, his words stirred some emotion finally.

"More than a few, by the looks of it." Came his clipped tone, a growl at the back of his throat. Brittany was visibly enraged as well, but bided her tongue, instead opting to glare fiercely. Logan watched as the man's finger's tightened, and he smiled wickedly again. Good, he was on edge. That was good.

Feeling the ground beneath his fingertips, he gently placed the weapon into the mud, just as slowly easing back up into a standing position.

"You should have heard her screams. So  _delicious!"_  He laughed, anticipating a reaction. He wasn't disappointed. And when the man gritted his teeth and opened his mouth to retort, Logan made his move, using his free hand to push the barrel of the gun upwards out of his face, the knife raised up in his other hand.

"Penguin!" Brittany shouted, seeing what was about to happen before it did.

Knowing there was nothing she could do to stop what was happening, Logan's grin widened, beginning the arc towards the man's chest, but a firm hand caught his arm, halting the downward stroke.

Shocked, he spun his head, staring directly into the eyes of that man from before. The one who'd kissed Lexi's forehead in front of the hospital.

"I think that's quite enough." His gray eyes glinted, somehow finding amusement in what was happening. But that wasn't right. Only  _he_  could be entertained right now. He should be the one laughing. And yet still this man smirked like the devil in his very face.

 _"_ _You."_  Logan spit, trying to yank his arm out of his grasp, but he simply yanked him out of reach of the white-suited one, throwing him roughly into a nearby tree. "Oof!" The impact knocked the breath out of his lungs. In the moment he needed to recover from the shock, the gray-eyed and shirtless one was forcing the knife out of his hand, pulling at the ropes around his chest. He'd forgotten they were even there.

"Looks like you brought your own noose along." The man chuckled, untangling the rope from around him and tossing it over to the girl. "You want to help? Then tie his legs together at the ankles."

Brittany still stood there, shellshocked from almost seeing the Penguin man stabbed or killed, but she shook off her temporary paralysis and nodded, stepping up to take the rope.

"You don't understand! We both must die tonight! It was fate!" He cried, unable to resist as the man pulled him from against the tree and slammed him to the ground, pressing his full weight over his chest and arms. At his feet, he felt Brittany winding the rope around his ankles.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Logan saw something orange and white come walking out of the trees. It was a polar bear, where an orange suit, similar to Penguin's. His eyes widened, thinking that perhaps his eyes were tricking him, but before he could dwell on it further, the man's voice cut through his thoughts.

"Penguin-ya. sit on his legs so he doesn't kick Brittany-ya." He instructed. The man with the gun set it aside, crossing over and sitting on top of Logan's knees. He bared his teeth.

"I'll kill you." He growled, the sound somewhat subdued from having the shirtless man sitting on his lungs. He simply grinned back in that infuriating way. Obviously, this was all so much fun to him.

"That may be a bit difficult with no arms or legs.." He muttered darkly, chuckling at the confused stare Logan sent his way.

"Law, his ankles are tied." Brittany announced, stepping back from him. Penguin stood, no longer needing to press his weight on him. Law turned and inspected the rope, satisfied that it was secured tightly. Sending one more glance towards their captive, he reached over for the untied end of the rope, standing and dragging him over towards a tall tree.

"Where's Lexi? I demand to see Lexi!" He hollered, his anger growing when his cries were promptly ignored. "What are you doing?" He shouted, trying to grab onto something, but found his fingers only sliding through twigs and mud.

"Penguin-ya, Brittany-ya, go to the other side of the branch." Law said, pointing to a thick tree branch running almost parallel to the ground several feet up. They did as he instructed, and finally Law tossed the rope over the top of the branch, Penguin catching it on the other side.

"Now, both of you pull."

Grunting and struggling, the two managed to pull the rope back, and Logan felt himself being lifted in the air, his head finally leaving the ground. He tried pulling himself back down with his hands but found nothing as leverage. Then, he was too high to touch the mud below, dangling with his legs tied by the branch.

"Anchor it to the tree directly behind you." Law said, and they moved to do so. Soon the rope was tied securely to another tree, and Penguin gave it a few experimental tugs to be sure it wouldn't snap. Giving a thumbs up to his captain, they approached the dangling man once more.

"Are you prepared for what is about to happen?" Law quietly asked Brittany. She stared at Logan, her eyes searching his, but then returned focus to the shirtless man and nodded firmly.

"Yeah, it's fine. I'm sure I'm gonna need therapy down the line but I can deal with that when it happens. He deserves whatever he gets. Just…make sure it hurts like hell, alright? And I want to get a few jabs in before he dies. For Lexi." Law smirked, finally turning to Logan.

"Very well then. Now," Law purred, unsheathing the large black and white sword he had on his shoulder, "let us begin, shall we?"

Logan eyed the gleaming blade, it's favor sharp edge evident even from his upside down point of view. Suddenly, he no longer felt entertained, or amused, but an inkling of real fear. The insanity in Law's eyes matched that of his own, even surpassed it, perhaps. And that was the scariest thing of all, because he'd never had to look straight into eyes like that before.

He gulped, the blood rushing to his head as the shirtless man stepped closer.

* * *

Lexi's eyes were closed, but she still tried to fight the lull of sleep, pressing the back of her head into the rock wall behind her forcefully so the pain would keep her awake. The last thing she needed now was to pass out. Feeling Shachi's hip on hers as he sat beside her, she came to the conclusion that the poor man probably wouldn't know what to do.

Her limbs were still too sore to really move, but her breathing was now a bit easier. Now that she wasn't running wildly through the forest, the burning had gone and the stitch in her side had eased immensely.

The pounding of rain overhead and the constant splashing of water from the entrance was loud in her ears. And the random noises off to her left.

She frowned, doing her best to tune out the rain and focus on that random noise. Lexi couldn't put a name to it, other than simple noise. It was oddly out of place, but she began to wonder if her ears hadn't suffered damage in all the trauma as well.

"Shachi?" She asked, her throat hoarse from lack of water. He turned his head towards her.

"Yeah?" The brunette pointed further back in the cave, the inside too dark to see.

"Do you hear anything inside the cave over there? I keep hearing…noise. It's hard to describe, but every once in awhile I'll hear…something."

He paused, focusing on listening before responding. "Actually…yeah, now that you mention it. It's really faint, but there's definitely something there. Want me to go check it out?"

"Yeah…It's kind of freaking me out." She admitted, too ashamed to look him in the eye. It was embarrassing, sounding and being so weak. He only laughed.

"No problem." He stood, holding out the pistol. "Just shout if you see anything move outside. I'll come running."

Lexi nodded, watching as he picked up one of the flashlights and turned it on, the beam illuminating the rock floor and walls. The pirate sent one more reassuring grin her way before heading deeper inside the dark cave. His footsteps seemed to echo on the watery rocks, the sound a comforting presence, letting her know he was still there.

Not feeling so frightful, the brunette took her turn watching for anything moving past the curtain of water. In doing so, her mind wandered to many things. To Logan, and his twisted sense of justice and fate. To Nana, and how she had yet to properly grieve for the loss of her grandmother. Her body was still probably at the hospital, alone.

It drifted to more complicated things, like Cooper. She hated the man, feared him and what he stood for, but he was dead and couldn't hurt her any longer. Logan had murderer him, and while a part of Lexi she was ashamed and frightened of thought that justice had been served, and felt  _pleased_  by his death, the other part pitied him. Sympathy wasn't the right word. Pity.

And of course, because that jerk was always on her mind somehow, Lexi's thoughts finally settled on Law. That cocky, arrogant, irritating, nosy…cunning…handsome, charming, amusing, beast of a man. Somehow, he'd woven his way into her heart, in a way that not even her ex-boyfriend could. Lexi thought she'd known love. But that all changed when she'd kissed him at that party, in that dark, tiny closet.

He'd made her  _feel_  again. Really feel. Until him and his band of misfit men, and bear, had been literally thrust into her life, she hadn't realized how boring and dull this world actually was. Sure, it had its moments, but nothing like they'd described as home.

Adventures, treasure, traveling across the world, living free, danger, a little family all their own…it all sounded so exciting. And she envied them. Her lust for something new and amazing left her envious of the pirates.

But then Law had told her to come with them, to join them in that world of adventure and riches and danger. It was all too tempting. She was being given the option to go after what she'd always wanted. And yet Lexi's indecisiveness and insecurity instantly kicked in, placing those doubts and worries in the back of her mind. Lurking and waiting.

Sitting there, in the cold cave in the middle of the forest, with a crazed murderer chasing after her, while Law, Brittany, and his men were out there hunting him down to protect her…that decision seemed almost too easy.

She'd spaced out for several minutes in thought. Eyes glazed over, Lexi shook her head, quickly looking back out into the forest but seeing nothing out of place. Not paying attention right now was dangerous. She couldn't afford to slack off.

The sound of footsteps from inside the cave caught her ear. She looked over, seeing a beam of light bouncing around on the rocks as Shachi made his way back over. He slowly appeared out of the darkness, a surprised and merry grin greeting her.

"You wouldn't believe what I have to say." He pointed towards the back, but she only cocked a brow. Peering behind the pirate, she saw nothing of interest. But still, those small random sounds were there at the edge of her hearing.

"What was it?"

"I think I found the way back home!"

* * *

****IF YOU WOULD LIKE NOT TO READ THE GRAPHIC TORTURE CONTENT, SKIP THIS SECTION.****

* * *

"Hmm…where to start is the question." Law muttered, inspecting Logan's limbs with intense interest. His gaze made Logan feel quite like a cow being chosen for slaughter, the butcher visually planning his cuts. Law swung his gaze over to Penguin, pointing to the gun the bear had picked up from the ground.

"Penguin-ya, shoot out his knees."

"Aye, Captain!"

Bepo handed the weapon over to Penguin, who backed up a few paces and raised the barrel. He knelt on the ground, one eye closed as he aimed in the scope. Logan felt his heart race, his palms sweating as the sudden gravity of what was happening began to sink into his mind.

"No!" He yelled, trying to swing out of the way. He only managed to squirm in midair, using some of his rapidly-declining strength to move a few inches. "Stop!"

They all waited as Penguin lined the shot, moving the barrel in time with the tiny movement his flailing had caused. Then, Brittany flinched when she heard the loud gunshot ring out, a splatter of blood exploding from Logan's leg.

AHHHH!" He screamed, arms writhing as he pulled them close to his chest, trying to get away from the unimaginable pain that erupted from his leg. Reflex tears pricked his eyes but were indistinguishable from the falling rain. He sobbed, chancing a look up at the limb that was now on fire. The bloodied mess of his knee, spurting blood which leaking down towards his head, had a hole torn clean through the fabric. He couldn't see in detail the state of the appendage, but if the pain were any indication, it didn't look like he would be able to walk on it again.

Before he really had a chance to recover from the first shot, Penguin's second shot rang out, the same result happening with the other leg. Logan screamed, arms flailing around at the added injury. It was bloodcurdling for Brittany, who silently looked on with a forced indifference. She'd never heard that level of human agony, nor did she think she'd ever forget the sound. What Law was doing was cruel, but fair, in her mind. Watching it play out, however, was a different matter altogether. More than once she had to push down the urge to vomit at the gushed of blood spurting onto the ground in front of them.

Law glanced over in the black-haired woman's direction, noting her tense expression. He could guess what was going through her head right now, but ignored it, focusing on how to make Logan suffer as much and for as long as possible.

"GAH! HAHH! AAAHHHH!" Logan cried, the weight of his own upside down body pulling on his injured knees. The more he moved the worse it seemed to get, and so he tried remaining still, though there really was no respite from the agony.

"Would you like to have your turn, Brittany-ya?" Law offered graciously, doing so now instead of later when he believed she would be able to take no more of his torture. She glanced between the dangling man and Law, finally shaking her head quickly. She dropped her knife, taking a step back.

"I'm alright." She muttered, quietly. Penguin, realizing her fear and reluctance, stepped closer to give her some sort of comfort. Placing the gun on the ground, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, allowing her to use him to hide her eyes if she wished.

Nodding in understanding, Law returned his gaze to their captive, smirk slowly beginning to form. "Next, I think I'll take your arms."

* * *

****END OF GRAPHIC CONTENT****

* * *

Lexi stared up at him, eyes widening. "You did? How?" She questioned in disbelief. He gestured back to the back of the cave.

"The cave wraps around, so you can't see it, but when you reach the very back, there's this curtain of gray mist, and I can hear the crew's voices! It's crazy! I don't know what it is or how, but I know it's them for sure. There's no mistaking it."

"A gray mist? Like a door?"

"I guess. It's hard to describe without looking at it, but the whole back wall of the cave looks that way, and the voices are 's what you must have been hearing. I would show you but I don't want to make your injuries worse." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, glancing at her legs.

"But we looked all over the cave that one time we searched. We looked inside and out, and there was no gray mist." Lexi frowned, thinking hard.

"Well, there were some strange-looking markings on some of the rocks in there. Maybe it's some religious thing?" Shachi questioned, eventually shrugging his shoulders.

"Maybe…" She muttered, thinking back to what Logan had said to her in the basement. He'd mentioned the Summer Solstice, which she knew had lots of religious meanings and rituals attached to it, but portals to another world was something new. Though, she didn't think Shachi would be lying, so she simply shrugged as well. She'd learned to stop questioning things so much since they'd arrived anyways. After all, they shouldn't even exist, according to logic. None of what was happening should have really happened at all, yet here she was.

"Either way." He grinned, taking his place beside her once more. "Captain'll be really glad to know we can go home finally!"

She gave him a tired smile, not wanting to be rude about it, but feeling that uneasiness return. With the chance to leave everything behind so close, she was afraid again. But she mentally shook her head. At some point, Lexi would have to start taking some risks.

Now all they had to do was wait for Law and the rest to get back. They wouldn't leave without them.

* * *

****IF YOU WOULD LIKE NOT TO READ THE GRAPHIC VIOLENCE, SKIP THIS SECTION****

* * *

"Bepo, Penguin-ya, hold his arms out to either side." Law ordered, knowing that Logan wouldn't willingly keep them away from his chest. He brought up his sword, pointing it towards him. His eyes widened, still in severe pain from the wounds to his knees.

Bepo approached him and one side and Penguin hesitantly released Brittany, trudging up to the other. Logan tried pulling his hands away but they forced him to extend them to either side. No matter how much he pulled or struggled, they wouldn't let go and there was no escape.

"Pull them taut." Law grinned, holding a ready stance, sword gripped in both hands. Brittany turned away, too repulsed to watch any further. She thought she'd be ready, but watching it actually happen turned out to be a lot harder than she imagined. It wasn't anything like the movies. Films couldn't reproduce true human terror at the thought of actually dying in such a gruesome way.

"Damn you! Damn you all to hell!" Logan screamed, mouth almost frothing at the intensity of his hatred. Law was unaffected, simply stepping forward within range of his limbs. Bepo and Penguin had complete trust in their captain to not harm them by accident, but they still leaned away from Logan as Law raised the blade up in the air.

"NO!" He cried, closing his eyes as Law began the downward stroke.

With a sickeningly loud squelch of blood and the harder sound of something being cut in half, Law cleaved through Logan's left arm at the elbow, sending a large spurt of blood shooting towards Penguin. The ear-splitting scream that tore from Logan's mouth was blood-chilling, sending a chill up even Law's spine. Usually, when he dismembered people, it was with the ability of his Room, which dealt no real damage to the body.

This, however, must be excruciating.

Penguin quickly dropped the severed limbs from his grasp. It flopped to the ground in the mud, blood seeping from the cut end. With Bepo the only one holding onto Logan, he was pulled to one side, his body now set at a slight angle. Bepo lessened his grip, straightening him out.

"Now for the other one." Law said pleasantly, returning to his previous stance and waiting for Bepo to lean further away.

With this arm not quite as tensed up as the first, Law's strike didn't cut all the way through. Instead, it was stopped halfway through the bone. Yanking the blade out with no care to the pain it must have caused the man, he raised his nodachi once more and cleanly sliced through the rest of the limb.

Brittany had to cover her ears at the loud scream of agony Logan produced, holding back tears as she could almost imagine what was happening behind her. She'd been unable to block her ears before the first cut of his arm echoed in the trees, and she knew she'd be hearing that sound for the rest of her life in her nightmares.

This wasn't what she'd expected. This wasn't something she could handle.

Logan's cries were never-ending now, the pain too much for him to bear. Then, Law's chuckle cut through his sounds of pain.

"Are your legs hurting you? Well, perhaps I can fix that." There was the sound of footsteps, then several meaty slices of flesh, and Brittany could all too well visualize Law cutting off Logan's legs, slowly cutting him free of the rope that held him, but in the most unpleasant, gruesome, and painful way possible.

Unable to hold out any longer, the nausea overcame her and she stumbled away to vomit in the bushes.

* * *

****END OF GRAPHIC CONTENT****

* * *

Shachi noticed Lexi's shivering was getting worse, and her skin was a paler shade then before. The hoodie draped over her legs was beginning to show splotches of red, where too much blood leaked through than the fabric could absorb. He frowned in concern.

"Hey…Captain and everyone else will be back soon. Then, we'll go back to your house and bury you in a ton of blankets. Right after Captain fixes you all up, of course." He tried to be cheerful, putting on a lighthearted grin for her sake.

She looked up at him, her teeth chattering. "I…um…" She glanced away, unsure of her next words.

"Is something wrong, Lexi-chan? I'm sorry I don't have anything to give you to warm you up-" Shachi fretted, searching around as if a pile of warm blankets would appear out of nowhere. She shook her head.

"No, it's not that. It's just…" Lexi swallowed, finally meeting him in the eye. "I don't want to go back home…"

"Eh? Why not? Where else would we go?" He scratched the back of his head in confusion. Maybe the blood loss made her loopy and saying things.

"…Law said once that he wanted me to go with you guys, when you go back to your world. At first I told him he was crazy. But I was scared back then. And now that Nana's gone, and…all this has happened," She gestured down at herself, "…I've got nothing left for me here."

"Really?" A wide smile broke out on his face, and he playfully tapped her on the forehead. "There's only one other girl in the crew, you know. Everyone would be really excited to meet you. It'll be awesome!"

"Thanks…" She muttered, a smile unwittingly creeping onto her face. "I haven't told Law yet though. When they get back, we'll show them the way back and then I'll let him know I'm going with." She explained.

"Alright, sounds great!"


	44. I Know, Goodbyes Suck

Law glanced behind him, watching as Brittany straightened from hacking up the contents of her stomach in some bushes further away. Logan's screaming still in the background, she didn't turn to look his way, intentionally keeping her back to the horror that awaited her. The pirate only shrugged. He had an inkling that she wouldn't have been able to handle it, but she had wanted to join.

Logan moaned in agony, his torso writhing in the mud below where his legs dangled from the rope, the knees still dripping blood from where they were severed from his body. Even Bepo and Penguin looked away from all that was left of the once whole being that now lay in pieces. Law, however, simply watched him try to crawl away by the stumps of his arms.

"Pleeee…" He moaned, unable to form words properly.

Behind him, Law heard Brittany whimper at the sound, and Penguin moved to hold the woman in comfort, wrapping his arms around her shoulder solemnly.

Logan spit blood, the inside of his mouth red from the hot liquid. Law walked closer, crouching beside him, his sword still in hand.

"Ki….Kill…" He tried, forcing the word through his pain. Law understood his plea. The pirate stared at Logan, taking in the desperate cry to be released from his pain. Cocking his head, Law brought the edge of his sword against Logan's neck.

"Do you know the difference between you and me?" He asked quietly, knowing the man couldn't reply in his state of pain. His breathing heavy, the brunette man simply looked at him through squinted eyes, the question all too evident.

Law sighed, pushing the blade closer against his skin, forcing his neck up so he looked at him more. "You kill because you want to. I kill because I must, to protect those I hold close. From people like you, who might think they can take what is mine."

Logan said nothing, just continued to stare at him as his breathing became more shallow.

"I use people like you to send a message, one that says  _no_ harm will come to those under my flag." Finally, Law released the pressure on his neck, standing and sheathing the blade once more. "Killing you so easily would be a mercy. I'll let you bleed out into the mud."

"Nnnnnnnn." Logan groaned, trying to squirm and stop Law from leaving him there, alone in the rain. This was no way to die, broken and writhing in agony, unable to move at all. But the bastard was doing just that, giving him the death of a coward, a no one.

"We're done here." Law stated clearly, picking up the discarded rifle from the ground and giving it to Bepo to carry. "Brittany-ya, do you know the way back to the cave from here?"

She sniffed, pushing gently out of Penguin's hold as she wiped away the fearful tears in her eyes. "Y-yeah…I think so."

Nodding, Law let her guide the way as everyone else filed in behind her. Law was last to follow, glancing once more at what was once a man. Logan was staring at him, the intense hatred blatantly obvious in his glare. Holding his gaze a moment, Law eventually turned back and followed his friends.

* * *

Lexi was struggling not to fall asleep. Shachi tried keeping small conversations going simply for the sake of keeping her conscious, but they were becoming increasingly ineffective. Forced to actually pat her cheek to shake her from her rest, he felt bad, knowing that her face was so cold and probably sore.

Too focused on keeping his companion awake and breathing, he almost didn't see the group returning to the cave, until they were only a few feet from passing through the water. Spotting Bepo immediately, Shachi knew they were friends and didn't draw his weapon, standing to greet them as they returned.

"Captain, did-" He stopped, taking in the solemn and slightly traumatized expression from Brittany, and the grim acceptance from his friends and Captain. "What happened?"

"Is he dead?" Lexi asked softly from her spot on the floor. Law looked down at her, inspecting the bloodstains showing through his hoodie. Nodding slowly, he watched her expression of concern turn to that of relief, a small smile working its way onto her face.

"Good." She sighed happily, turning to her friend. Brittany sat on the other side of the cave, her head down and arms wrapped around her knees. Frowning, she cocked her head sleepily.

"Are you ok?"

Silently, Brittany shook her head, a fearful glance in Law's direction. Confused, Lexi was about to ask why she was acting so strange but Shachi interrupted her.

"Captain! I almost forgot. Lexi-chan and I think we found the way back home." He pointed towards the back of the cave, and Penguin looked up excitedly as well. "It's at the back of the cave!"

Law's head turned to his engineer, eyes widening. "Show me."

All of the pirates followed Shachi to where he'd found the strange gray mist-like doorway, as he'd explained it, his flashlight showing the way. Brittany and Lexi were left by the entrance, and the brunette sighed gently.

"Brittany, what did Law do?" She asked quietly, having a feeling of what had happened. Brittany slowly looked up to her, eyes wide and strangely hollow, as if she weren't really there.

"He…he cut him up…into pieces." She swallowed, looking down at her hands. "I tied his feet up…and they hung him over a tree branch…then he cut his…arms and legs off…" She muttered, clutching a handful of her hair for comfort. "It was…"

"Just don't think about it, Brit." Lexi tried reassuring soothingly. "It's over, you don't have to think about it anymore."

"You don't understand." The black-haired woman shook her head frantically. "I'll be thinking about it for a long time. For the rest of my life."

Lexi said nothing, unable to come up with a response to that. She didn't exactly want to say that she couldn't feel sympathy for Logan, seeing as he had definitely planned on killing her. Whatever had happened she figured was what he deserved. In fact, she secretly hoped that Law had made it as painful and gruesome as possible. And by the sound of it, he had. Because it was Brittany who didn't understand, really. She hadn't experienced the true fear of death, of never knowing if her next breath would be her last. She didn't know the pain of having to stare the person who would kill her in the face for hours as he slowly tore up her legs, smiling and laughing with each new scream he pulled from her behind the tape.

But Brittany obviously hadn't been able to cope with what Law had done. She didn't understand, but she couldn't exactly fault her for that.

They could hear the voices and footsteps as the pirates returned to the entrance, Law chatting with his men about provisions and where their next destination would be. Then, the Captain turned his gaze onto the brunette, obviously having something to say.

"Have you made your decision?" He asked, the sword leaning on his shoulder casually. Lexi's eyes drifted over all of the pirates, seeing the expectant face of Penguin, the adorable and happy one on Bepo, the ecstatic one for Shachi, and the stern indifference of Law. But under that carefree attitude she could see that he was secretly hoping she'd accept his offer, the fingers on his nodachi sheath tighter than necessary.

 _'_ _Am I ready?'_  She asked herself, finally smiling sweetly, her eyes still weary and heavy.  _'Yes, I am.'_

"I want to go with you, to your world." Law gave a satisfied smile, and the two engineers high-fived. But Brittany's head snapped up in the next instant, disbelief etched on her face.

"Lexi…what are you doing?" She stood, going over to Lexi's side and grabbing her by the shoulders. "What are you even saying?"

Turning evenly to her best friend of several years, Lexi gave a tired and apologetic smile. "This is what I want, Brit. I want to go with them."

"Are you insane!? Do you even know what they are capable of!?" She gestured wildly at the pirates standing back from them, watching the scene with interest. Law had his signature smirk in place.

"Brittany-" She tried to explain her decision but the black-haired woman was not hearing it.

"They straight up murderer a man! Dismembered him! What makes you think they won't turn on you and do the same!?" Shachi and Penguin looked rather offended, while Law only lost his amused look, opting to sport that blank expression.

Lexi finally looked towards her future Captain, locking gazes for several moments, as if trying to find any intention of deceit or violence directed towards her, seeing nothing but intrigue and respect. She had no doubts, even if Brittany had witnessed a side of Law that she had yet to experience. Sure, it might scare her, but what was life without being scared, or angry, or sad, or any of those other emotions? She knew Law better than her friend did, and that side of Law was what made her confident that she was putting her life in trustworthy hands.

Lexi smiled again, pulling her friend in close for a hug. "I know you're worried about me, I know you'll miss me, but I know the risks. I know what I might be getting myself into and still I want to go." Brittany tried pulling away but the brunette held her firm.

"Lexi-"

"What is there left for me here?" She asked honestly. "Nana's gone. My parents are gone. I feel unsafe in my own hometown. I was almost murdered. My grades were starting to tank after that party."

"You have me." Her best friend choked, a sob racking her body. Lexi felt Brittany tremble in her arms, squeezing her tighter as if afraid to leg go. "I'm still here for you."

"You won't be forever though. You've always talked about moving away and getting out of here."

"Come with me then." She tried, desperately trying to convince her friend not to go. It was true. She was afraid of losing her. She was scared that something would happen, or she'd get hurt, or something equally worse. She was scared of being without the friend that had her back, the one she could text at odd hours of the day to share some stupid meme from Facebook. She would miss her so much, and she didn't know how to handle it after all that had happened.

"Brittany." Lexi sighed, stroking her black hair affectionately. "I'll be alright. This is what I want. And I know you'll do fine without me. You'll get to visit Paris and England and all the places you've dreamed of. But you've gotten take the chance."

There was several moments of time where Brittany only cried into Lexi's hair, squeezing tightly. Then, she finally nodded a little, pulling away.

"Alright. I guess you've always been stubborn like that." She laughed halfheartedly, trying to clear her eyes. "But, you have to promise that you'll try to make more friends because god dammit you won't ever do anything."

"I promise. Just...make sure Nana has a nice funeral. Let her I loved her, and that I was thankful for everything she did for me."

"I will." She responded. Lexi smiled sadly, breathing a little easier as Brittany pulled back, rising to her feet. Letting out a deep breathe, the black-haired woman straightened her soaked clothing, looking to the pirates who watched silently.

"You two had better keep her safe and make sure she's happy. Got that?" Brittany pointed at the two engineers, and they stiffened, bringing their hands up to their heads in a salute.

"Yes, Ma'am!"

"And you," She swung her gaze to Law, who only raised a brow in response, "You and I are going to have a chat before you leave. And I'd rather not walk through the woods by myself back to the truck anyways. Any chance I could bother you for an escort?"

He sighed, having wondered if she'd make him walk her back or not. After his display of violence earlier, it was a small wonder she'd be a little intimidated of finding her way back alone. Still, there were more pressing matters to attend to. "Lexi-ya has lost a lot of blood, and may be in danger of bleeding out if not treated immediately." He argued, but Lexi yawned from her place by the wall.

"Most of the bleeding has stopped. And I can hold out another 20 minutes or so. Please, if you could bring her back, I would be appreciative." She asked, giving him a small smile. Still, those tired eyes were begging to sleep but for the sake of her friend she was holding out.

The doctor part of Law was frustrated by that, but he knew Lexi wouldn't forgive him if he simply left her friend on her own in this cave. He frowned then. "I suppose I have no other choice in the matter. Bepo," He turned to his first mate, who stood at attention, "you'll accompany me to escort Brittany-ya."

"Aye, Captain!"

"As soon as we return, we will depart back home." Law promised, ordering Shachi and Penguin to stay with Lexi until he got back. The three walked back out into the rain, which didn't seem as strong as before, but still quite the downpour. Shachi and Penguin took up both sides of Lexi, trying to keep themselves warm but huddling closer together. They made sure to keep their distance from her legs, however, knowing it would hurt at a single touch.

"You'll love the crew, Lexi-chan!" Penguin promised. "And I think Holly-chan will like having another girl aboard."

"As long as you don't try to get together with Mike. He's got a thing going on with her, and she would probably kill you." He added, and Penguin nodded thoughtfully.

"Oh, and if Patrick ever asks to help you clean your room or something, say no."

"Why?" She chuckled, glancing between the two of them. Shachi crossed his arms.

"Because we've caught him trying to steal from Holly-chan's underwear drawer before, so you don't want to take the risk." Lexi shook her head, thinking that perhaps there'd be more to this adventure than she'd anticipated.

"Oh! And don't even get us started on the chef." Penguin continued, plunging into yet another story about some event him and Shachi had witnessed or participated in, completely enthralling Lexi in their adventures.

* * *

"I understand you would be worried about Lexi-ya's safety, but that is her decision to make." Law pushed, watching Brittany scowl. They walked along the muddy path back towards the truck, pushing overhanging branches and skirting around rocks that were in the way.

"I get that. I already agreed to accept her decision, but I'm not totally satisfied with that."

He raised a brow, watching the black-haired woman push her wet bangs out of her face, focusing on finding their way back. "And what is it you wanted from me, then?"

"Promise me you'll keep her safe. Promise me that you'll do whatever it takes to make sure she doesn't get hurt." Her eyes pierced into his, daring him to say otherwise.

"I've seen what you're capable of, and I don't think even she knows. And unless you convince me that what happened to Logan won't happen to her, by you or anyone else, I'm not going to just let you take her away to her death."

He paused, not looking away from what was meant to be an intimidating gaze. Who he judged to be an average human being before, this emotional and stubborn woman before him, he now saw an admirable heart and the courage to say what needed to be said. She was determined, decisive, and wouldn't take no for an answer to anything. She'd even been prepared to defend her friend in times of disaster. She'd held her own, pushing her own limits for the sake of others. With that realization, Brittany had earned his respect.

"While I am her Captain, she will be protected and treated with the utmost respect. We will train her to defend herself and fight, so in times of danger she is not defenseless." He recited, still holding her gaze. "No one will lay a hand on her before going through me first, that I promise you."

Brittany said nothing, only let the words sink in before slowly nodding. "I believe you. That in itself is something to wonder at." She muttered, shaking her head incredulously. "Especially after what happened before. I'm surprised you don't scare me half to death."

He smirked, pleased at this admission. "Hmm, perhaps I should have tried harder to frighten you."

"Don't even joke about that." She glared, bringing them around the last bend in the path before the highway came into view. They emerged from the trees, the truck within sight. The group of three stopped, and Brittany finally turned to Law and the polar bear.

"I guess this is goodbye." He stared, noticing her hesitation to begin their last exchange.

"Yeah, I guess so." Then, without warning, she hugged him tightly. He raised his arms in discomfort, not quite sure what to do about this. Brittany had never shown him that kind of attention, other than boggling him through his clothes on occasion.

"I guess you did save my best friend's life, and I'm grateful for that." She pulled away, eyes scanning his tattooed chest, practically salivating at the sight. He raised a brow, but she finally stepped back. "I'll never forget you guys, even if I want to."

"Goodbye, Brittany-ya." He smirked, watching her make her way back to the truck. The black-haired woman glanced back only once, giving a little wave before reaching the door, climbing inside, and turning on the engine. A few moments later and they were watching her drive back down the way they'd come, the red lights on the back marking her path.

"Let's go home, Bepo." Law sighed, feeling the lack of sleep from their intense night catching up to him. He really needed a nap, right after he treated the wounds on Lexi's legs.

* * *

Lexi and the others watched Law and Bepo come back into view in the clearing, coming and passing through the entrance. The engineers stood, double checking they had everything they needed. Lexi looked around as well, but knew she had nothing to need. Law handed his sword to Bepo, who dropped the gun on the ground and took his Captain's weapon, dutifully carrying it.

"You're not walking in that condition. I'm going to carry you."

Lexi nodded. Law bent down, an arm wrapping around her back and the other picking her up by the knees. She hissed a little as his hoodie shifted around, rubbing against the slashed skin, but otherwise it didn't hurt too much. Most of her legs were too cold to feel anyways.

He heaved up, and she instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, finding better purchase so as not to feel like falling over at all times. He adjusted his grip, making sure he wouldn't drop her, then finally turned to the others.

"Let's go."

And so saying, they approached the back of the cave. Shachi and Penguin still held their flashlights, illuminating the way before them. It was the first time Lexi would see the strange wall of gray mist they had been describing, and she felt excited at the prospect.

They walker deeper still, the darkness around them closing in, before the rocks directed them slightly to the right, and they rounded the bend so the back of the cave was now visible. Lexi gasped, enthralled by what she saw.

It was exactly as Shachi had first described it: a curtain of rolling gray smoke covered the entire back wall of the cave. It the darkness it was strangely out of place, but the noises and voices from before were louder and more pronounced now, to where she could distinguish the individual tones of the voices and the distinct sound of a crackling fire.

They all paused, a moment of hesitation at not knowing what to expect when they stepped through. Then, taking the lead, Law plunged into the swirling mass of smoke. Lexi closed her eyes, afraid of the unknown and what might happen. But all it felt like was a cool wave breeze, and then the temperature changed drastically. Gone was the chill of the rain and cold of West Virginia, and in its place was a much warmer, humid air.

The echoing of Law's footsteps on dry stone made her open her eyes, and she was surprised to find that they were still in the cave. Well, besides the temperature change, she would have thought they hadn't gone anywhere at all.

Law turned to glance behind him, and the others were there too, standing in front of a normal rock wall. Where the gray smoke should have been was plain rock. Confused, Shachi reached out a hand to the rock, but it touched the hard surface without going through. There truly was no going back now. But Lexi was sure of her decision, so it did not bother her.

They walked forward, Law in the lead. Then suddenly, a new and unfamiliar smell assaulted her nose. It wasn't the fresh scent of the forest around her home, or the clean rain, but the salty tang of the ocean, and something she couldn't name. The voices were distinguishable now, to where she could make out specific words and laughter.

The warmer air helped thaw out her freezing body, and her shivering from the wet and cold slowly subsided.

In front of them was light at the end of the cave. The entrance was close. Lexi squirmed in excitement at seeing this new world for the first time, and Law smirked, feeling her curiosity passed the point of needing flashlights, so Shachi and Penguin simply tossed them to the side, walking behind their Captain as they emerged into the light of the open world.

"Captain!" Someone called, and there was a holler of surprise and relief. Lexi had to shield her eyes from the sudden brightness, the sun overhead. "We were worried about you!"

"Who's that?"

"Is she ok?"

"What happened?"

Finally cracking open one eye, she saw a whole gathering of men in identical boiler suits to the ones Shachi and Penguin wore, all wearing some unique kind of hat. They all scrambled from around a makeshift fire pit in the sand to stand and greet their Captain, watching her in curiosity.

"Sup guys!" Shachi and Penguin walked into the mass of others, patting backs and sitting on the logs set on either side of the pit. "You'll never believe where we've been the last few months!"

"Months? You've only been gone three days." One of them said, causing confusion through everyone. Lexi saw Law frown, curious as to that fact, but he shook that off, eyeing the hoodie still wrapped around her legs.

"We can discuss where we've been or what has happened later. This is Lexi-ya. She'll be joining the crew, but must have her injuries looked at first."

At the mention of her joining the crew, a few people cheered, or said hellos, but they finally nodded, slowly drifting away form the group of pirates returned from a different world. Law walked past the group towards a giant yellow submarine surfaced on top of the water not too far behind the group camped on the beach. Her mouth opened in awe, taking in the wonder that was this strange vessel.

Around them, everything looked exactly as things were in her world, and she took comfort in the familiar. A part of her had feared that colors would be different, or any other manner of things that weren't the same. But this wasn't as scary as she'd imagined first.

She smiled, wondering what this new life had in store for her as Law carried her onboard the yellow submarine.


	45. Epilogue

_*Several Months Later*_

"Brittany! You haven't forgotten about this box downstairs, have you?" The black-haired woman's mother called from down the stairs. Rolling her eyes, she finished placing all the clothes into the last box, closing the lid and grabbing the tape gun, ripping a piece over the top so it wouldn't open. She picked up the black marker, writing 'Clothes' across the side.

"No, Mom! I haven't! I'm just finishing up this last one." She called, standing up with the heavy box, turning towards the door. She passed through the hallway, peering around the edge of the box as she descended the stairs, being careful not to slip and fall. Brittany's mother, looking a lot fancier than the occasion really called for, fretted over a backpack that looked stuffed to the brim.

"I packed you some snacks and an extra pair of socks, in case your feet get cold. Oh, and there are two sodas on the sides, so you can have something to drink while you drive. And-"

"Mom!" Brittany interrupted, laughing at all her mother's worry. "It's alright. Thanks for packing it. I'll look through it when I get to the hotel."

"Oh, I'm sorry." The weary, raven-haired woman sighed, pulling in her daughter for a hug. "It's just I'm losing my baby girl. I thought I'd have more time with you before your father and I were left in an empty house."

Brittany groaned, stepping away once her mother let go. The both of them picked up the last boxes and headed out the door, where her car was parked, the hatchback open already half-filled with the rest of her stuff.

"Yeah, I know. It's just something I feel like I have to do." She finished quietly, pushing the box of her clothes on top of one filled with toiletries. She shifted a few blankets placed on top of everything to make room for the box her mother carried, packing it in with a final shove.

"Well, after everything that's happened, your father and I don't blame you." She stroked Brittany's cheek with a gentle smile, guiding her back into the house.

She was, of course, referring to the police report of Lexi's disappearance and the discovery of a mutilated body in the woods.

The local news had been in a frenzy, pinning the horrific crime onto the newly-dubbed 'Rain Man,' the rampant murderer who killed his victims during severe storms. While they identified the victim as Logan Pryer, his only surviving relative his drug-abusing mother, they withheld most of the information in the best interest of discretion.

Brittany had worried for weeks after the body's discovery that police would find her fingerprints on the ropes that were tied around his legs, but it seemed that the storm had washed away any viable evidence, and she wasn't in any criminal database to begin with. No detectives or investigators knocked on her door demanding she go with them to the police station.

Well, they did visit her home, but for another reason entirely. Since she had been very close to Lexi, they asked her several questions about the brunette's apparent disappearance. Brittany, ever the excellent actor, feigned surprise and grief over the loss of her friend, though in actuality it was the sounds of Logan's screams that made her so distraught.

After awhile, the town seemed to give up trying to look for the missing college student, though there were rumors among the students that she'd committed suicide because of the sexual assault at the frat party. More than one person had approached Brittany asking for information they weren't entitled to, and she only emphasized that she didn't know what had happened exactly.

At least she knew that wherever her friend was now, she was happy. At least, Lexi had been when they'd left, but it was easier to believe that she was smiling and laughing in a world where she found enjoyment in living life.

Keeping her promise, Brittany had arranged Nana's funeral with some help from her mother. It was a small service, no more than a dozen people in attendance, but Brittany thought it was fitting for the old woman. It was held at the local cemetery, with three large wreaths set behind her casket in dedication to her three years of service in the armed forces.

She'd spoken words on Lexi's behalf, not having to fake the tears that fell as she recited her friend's love for her grandmother. It was a beautiful service, and Brittany felt that she'd completed her task well.

Still, even months later, the emptiness of not having the crazy old lady and the shy brunette who loved to run was hard to bear. Which was why she was moving away, getting out of town for the first time in her life.

Brittany followed her mom back into the house, allowing the older woman to fret over tiny things that may be forgotten and packing a few extra things into the backpack on the table. Brittany didn't pay attention to most of what her mother advised, nodding distractedly so as not to upset her.

"I'm going to go upstairs and make sure I didn't forget anything." She said, and her mother nodded.

"Alright, dear. I'll be outside waiting for you to take off!"

Heading back upstairs, Brittany felt the weight of her decision begin to settle on her shoulders the nearer she got to her bedroom door. The same door she'd drawn on in crayon as a toddler. The same one she'd shut angrily when she'd been grounded for a month in 6th grade. She smiled, stepping through the doorway and peering into the room.

Her bed was the same as always, with her purple comforter spread across it, but the pale yellow walls were bare, her band posters stuffed into one of the boxes in her car. Her dresser, usually so full of perfumes and nail polish, was completely cleared of stuff.

Trailing her hand over the foot of the bed, she looked around, soaking in the room's scent of linen and her perfume. She'd miss this room, and all it's cramped glory.

This was it. The last time she'd step foot in this room. She smiled, the bittersweet feeling growing as the memories came back of her childhood. But, she shook her head, having decided just recently that she would try not to dwell on the past so much. It would only bring pain.

With a sigh, she turned and tromped down the stairs again, heading outside to see her mother shoving the backpack into the passenger seat of her car, closing the door when she spotted her daughter coming close.

"Oh, your father's sorry that he wasn't able to be here to see you off, but just know that he loves you and supports your decision." She cooed, pulling her in for another hug. Brittany rolled her eyes but let herself be squeezed and rocked back and forth like a stuffed animal.

"Thanks, Mom." She said, pulling back and reaching for her car keys in her purse.

"Call us when you get to the hotel, alright? And when you pass into Tennessee."

"I will, don't worry." And with that, she walked towards the driver's seat, opening the door and slamming it shut behind her. Tugging on her seatbelt, Brittany shoved her key in the ignition, starting the engine. It purred to life.

Brittany took one more glance at her childhood home, giving her mother a little wave before backing out of the driveway, then straightened and disappeared behind the trees down the street.

She tried not to look at the forest as it passed her by. Half of her irrationally thought that she'd see Logan, or even Lexi, peeking out from behind one of the trunks. Shaking her head, Brittany pressed the volume button, turning the radio on.

The last few seconds of a song played, and the DJ of the station came back on before the next song played.

 _"_ _I know I could lie but I'm telling the truth, wherever I go there's a shadow of you."_  The radio played, and Brittany glanced at the dash. She'd never heard this song before. It must be new.

_"_ _I know I could try looking for something new, but wherever I go I'll be looking for you."_

She smiled, feeling a strange sense of calm wash over her soul. Even though everything had turned to shit not too long ago, she'd still managed to keep standing, heading off to make a new life in a new place. Texas, specifically. Some place she'd never thought too much about, making it the perfect place to start her life over. New friends, a new college, a little apartment all her own...and maybe a puppy, she thought with a smile.

As the last notes of the song played, she crossed the county lines, never looking back at what was once her home.

* * *

"Wait, so it's the  _left_  lung that has two lobes, and the  _right_  that has three?" Lexi asked, tapping the medical book in her lap with her pencil. Law glanced back at the brunette, sitting cross-legged on his bed with her elbows on either knee, staring down at the textbook in consternation. He smirked, looking closely at her legs. While the wounds had healed without incident, despite a minor infection on her left calf, many of the slashes had left scarred lines all over her pale skin.

"Yes, that's why the left one is smaller."

"Hmm…" She hummed, turning to write something down in her notebook that sat beside her. "Then, the little notch in the side is to accommodate the heart, right?"

"Correct." He turned from his desk, standing and approaching her. While he still had some paperwork to take care of, his back was beginning to ache from sitting hunched over for so long, and he'd rather see how Lexi was doing anyways. She'd been studying diligently with his old medical books, determined to become a medical professional as she'd initially sought out to do. Never one to turn down another medic onboard his submarine, Law was eager to teach her everything he knew. Besides, it would be quite amusing having her around all the time in his infirmary.

Grinning mischievously, Law walked to the edge of the bed and bent down, placing his two hands on either side of her crossed legs. She looked up, eyes widening when his face was only a few inches from her.

"You've been staring at that book for hours. Perhaps you should take a break?" He suggested, watching as her eyes took on that glint that indicated she was up to something.

"Well, maybe you're right." She nodded, ignoring his proximity to her and stuffing her notebook into the page she was on, closing the cover. She placed the book to the side and looked back up to him. "Now, what ever do you suggest I occupy my time with now?"

"Oh, I think I could come up with a few ideas." He chuckled, slowly closing the distance between their lips. Lexi laughed, her hands moving to the front of his hoodie, tugging on the material to pull him closer.

Now that she wasn't afraid of him leaving her alone anytime soon, Lexi sure was a lot more forthcoming about her attraction to him, and he wasn't complaining.

Smiling into the kiss, Law pushed her back on the bed, his body moving to hover over hers. She gasped, then giggled, when he reached one hand to squeeze her ass. Lexi tried scooting backwards further on the bed but Law pulled her by the waist to his chest, grinding his hips into her. She moaned, hands moving to his arms as if to support her.

She looked up into the gray eyes of her Captain. Never would she think he would be the one to bring her happiness to such degree. He'd given her a new life, a new world to explore, with new friends to cherish. That dark gleam in his eyes, as he pushed her deeper into the bed, she ingrained it into her memory, feeling for the first time in her life, a sense of true belonging.

Right here. Right now. That was where she really belonged.


	46. Alternate Ending

PLEASE NOTE: This chapter should be considered 'non-canon' in terms of the actual storyline. Instead, it's a fun AU ending where things don't end up as they originally did. Enjoy!

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"Have you made your decision?" Law asked quietly, his nodachi leaning on his shoulder casually. Lexi's eyes drifted over all of the pirates, seeing the expectant face of Penguin, the adorable and happy one on Bepo, the ecstatic one for Shachi, and the stern indifference of Law. But under that carefree attitude she could see that he was secretly hoping she'd accept his offer, the fingers on his nodachi sheath tighter than necessary.

Her heart pounded in her chest, and she swallowed dryly. She'd told herself she was ready for this moment, this decision. How could it be here already? She'd expected to have more time.

 _'Am I ready?'_  She asked herself fearfully, looking down at her legs numbly. They were shredded to pieces, and would definitely need immediate medical attention. She didn't have much longer to decide.

Her eyes briefly flicked back up to Law's gray gaze, regarding her with a sort of acceptance, an understanding of her hesitations. Even as she tried to will herself to be comfortable with the idea of leaving everything evil about this world behind, setting out for a course in what could only be the biggest and most exciting adventure of her entire life…

She just couldn't do it.

Silently, Lexi shook her head, sighing heavily as she raised her head up higher. "I belong here." Was her throaty, quiet answer. Nonetheless, she managed a small grin. "This is my home, no matter how…fucked up it may be."

Shachi and Penguin visibly deflated, and Bepo lowered his head, clearly disappointed in her choice, but they didn't verbalize it. Brittany's smile grew wider, relieved she wouldn't be losing her best friend today, and pleased that she wouldn't be in the hands of these homicidal, delusional men she knew next to nothing about.

"Thank god…" Lexi heard her whisper under her breath, slouching where she sat due the lifting of the figurative weight on your shoulders. If the others heard her, they didn't indicate it. Law, on the other hand, remained perfectly neutral, nodding slowly in acceptance of her decision. For that, she was grateful.

"Say your goodbyes, and then we'll get the two of you back to your truck." Law finally broke the silence, hefting his nodachi up onto his shoulder a little more comfortably, stuffing a hand into his pants pocket casually. He made his way closer to the back of the cave, allowing his crew to say their goodbyes.

Shachi and Penguin stepped forward, both looking quite sheepish. "We'll miss you, Lexi-chan. It was fun, getting to see your world and all." The redhead grinned in slight sorrow, trying to look chipper despite the somber atmosphere.

"I'll miss you guys too." She admitted, fist bumping Shachi before repeating the gesture for Penguin. It would make things difficult if she tried reaching up to hug them, so this would have to suffice. "Keep your Captain in line for me." She joked.

"Will do." Penguin gave a thumbs up, promising to do just that. They sidestepped and allowed the polar bear to come forward, leaning down to lick her face rather sadly.

"It's too bad there weren't any female bears around, but thanks for taking care of us." She chuckled, his tongue tickling her cheek in a pleasant way. She reached up and scratched behind his ears appreciatively.

"You'll find her someday, Bepo. I promise." Lexi gave him one last pat on the head before he too stepped off towards the back of the cave. With their albeit brief farewells out of the way, Law stepped forward again, handing his nodachi off to Bepo, who accepted it silently.

"Let's go." Law said, crouching down to lift Lexi from the cave floor. She awkwardly wrapped her arms around his neck, helping him get a better grip under her legs and back as he carried her towards the mouth of the cave. Brittany followed beside him, grabbing the fishing knife again just in case. With the events of the previous few hours, she didn't want to be caught unprepared.

"I'll be back soon." Law promised, passing through the waterfall and back into the woods, his crew mates waiting for him to return.

* * *

For the most part, the three said nothing. Lexi, predictably, was silent simply for the reason that she was falling asleep in his arms. Fearing that she'd fall into an almost comatose state, should she succeed in passing out, he had to shift his grip on her every few minutes simply to jog her consciousness.

"Stop moving so much." She finally muttered into his shoulder, too exhausted to do much more than rest against his body. He raised a brow and grinned just a little.

"You should know better than that, Lexi-ya. No sleeping just yet." Then, he turned to Brittany seriously. "Don't let her rest until you get to the hospital."

"I won't." She promised with a nod, ducking under a stray branch that stuck out over the path, holding it up away from Law as he carried her friend. "Hear that, Lex? That means we're gonna blast Nicki and Wiz over the loudspeakers the whole way there."

The exclamation left Law frowning in confusion, but it was truly meant for Lexi, who Brittany knew hated most rap music. Lexi groaned in frustration, too weak to do much more than shake her head minutely.

Again, they lapsed into an easy silence, and before too long, they reached the edge of the highway, the truck parked on the dirt turnout in front of the trail. Brittany jogged ahead and unlocked the truck doors, opening the passenger side so Law could place Lexi in the seat.

"I'm sorry…" Lexi muttered close to his ear lazily, eyes closed tightly as her legs brushed against one another. "…that I didn't go with you."

"While I may be disappointed to lose someone with your skill set, don't be." He answered quietly, too low for Brittany, who was several feet away holding the door, to hear. "It was your choice to make."

His understanding of her decision still didn't make the ache go away, knowing that after tonight, she'd never see him again, never get to see that amused smirk, or kiss those lips again. Funny. One of the best and most exciting things to ever walk into her life was now about to walk out of it. She'd once wished them gone the moment she met the four pirates, but now the same thought left her chest aching, the sting of tears behind her eyes.

"Thank you…" Finding it too difficult to talk any further, Lexi simply allowed herself to be lifted into the passenger seat of the truck, Brittany reaching over from the other side to help buckle her in.

"How will you explain the damage to her legs?" Law questioned curiously, stepping back away from door. The cuts were extensive, too much to be attributed to something simple. He wondered how they'd manage to explain the injuries.

Brittany shrugged, hopping down from the seat and shutting the door to minimize the amount of rain that got into the interior. "I'll think of something." Then, her face returning to that stern distrust, her back straightened as she faced him. "Thanks, for helping me save her."

He nodded silently, eyeing Lexi in the truck, Her head, still wearing his hat, was leaning against the glass tiredly. He grinned, wondering how long it would take for her to realize she still had it.

"Now, get out of here, you damn pirate." Brittany shooed him back into the woods, but it wasn't said in hatred. If anything, it sounded more affectionate than rude. Offering her one more sly grin, he turned in place and made his way back down the trail, disappearing behind the trees where Brittany lost sight of him for the final time.

Feeling a new sense of urgency, knowing her friend was still losing blood, Brittany hopped into the driver's seat of the truck and shoved the key into the ignition, hearing the engine roar to life.

Lexi had watched as Law made his leave back towards the trail, and felt a few tears slide down her face as she stared at his back, memorizing each step as he turned and walked away.

The images were burned into her mind, playing over and over again, as they rushed towards the hospital.

* * *

A week after that terrifying night, both legs full of stitches and bound to a wheelchair, Lexi wheeled herself down the aisle of the funeral home, one hand holding a bouquet of flowers, the other steadying her chair as she rolled between the pews.

Brittany walked behind her, making sure her brunette friend didn't accidentally crash into everything. It was tough keeping it together, considering the occasion, but she was strong for Lexi. Strong for Nana, who she knew must be watching from somewhere up above.

They reached the front of the room, where the cherry-wood casket sat closed, wreaths of flowers and ribbons adorning all around it in a beautiful display. They were her favorite, red day lilies. Draping over the casket was the American flag, something that Lexi wouldn't have forgotten for the world. Nana's love for her country was well known, and she'd be damned to not have something that represented that. As they reached the casket, Lexi placed her bouquet of roses down on a small table beside it, sniffing to prevent herself from openly crying in front of everyone.

Brittany did the same with her rose she carried, following after her friend as they went to take their seats. Brittany sat on the edge of the row, Lexi wheeling her chair right beside her.

The few dozen people in attendance, most notably Brittany's family sat in the front row beside them, several older women from the retirement home who'd known Nana years back, several people Lexi honestly didn't know, and a Veteran's Affairs advocate from the state that Brittany had insisted know that Nana had been military long ago.

Because of this revelation, Nana was granted Military Funeral Honors, complete with a two-man uniformed guard to help conduct the service.

Overall, it was a simple affair. They read her obituary, recounted stories of her life fondly, offered prayers that she remain peacefully in heaven, and in accordance with the military funeral, they played a recording of Taps over the speakers. Brittany had wanted a real bugler to be present, stating that it was only fitting for her to receive the real thing, but Lexi had stated it was more appropriate and reasonable to go for a recording.

They then folded up the flag that was draped over her casket, folding it in the traditional triangular pattern, before one of the blank-faced soldiers stepped towards her and presented it for her to keep. She timidly accepted the flag, holding it tightly against her lap, as if she was afraid to drop it accidentally.

Before she knew it, the service was over, and they trickled out of the room one by one. In the atrium outside, well-wishers stayed behind until Lexi wheeled herself outside of the main funeral room, offering their condolences and promises that if she needed anything, she could give them a call.

After awhile, everyone except for Brittany's mother and father had left, and the four of them remained long enough to watch Nana be buried in her plot, going outside in the sunshine to watch silently as Lexi saw her Grandmother for the final time.

"Lexi, sweetie, how are you feeling?" Brittany's mother crouched beside her awhile later, once they were back inside the funeral home. The plan was for Lexi to stay with them until all of the legal paperwork headaches had passed, and so she could recover from the 'car accident' she'd suffered while driving out to go for a hike on the trail.

In answer to her question, Lexi faked a small smile, nodding reluctantly. "I'm doing alright. Just have to recover and…wrap my head around things."

"Things like this take time." Brittany's dad consoled, giving her a gentle pat on the shoulder. "Just know we're here for you should you need anything."

"Thanks." She smiled a little wider, feeling the love for Brittany's parents who had done so much for her in the past week. Brittany's mom rose from her crouch and smoothed over a piece of hair on her face in a motherly fashion.

"We'll be in the truck for when you're ready to go home. But take your time here." With that, the two of them left the building, leaving Brittany and Lexi to themselves in the hall where the funeral had taken place.

"So…how are you  _really_  holding up?" Brittany asked with a sympathetic gaze, willing her not to lie about it this time. Lexi could see it clearly, the hurt and hope mixed all into that one look.

Lexi sighed, looking down at the flag still sitting in her lap. "I honestly don't know…"

"That's ok. We'll figure it out a day at a time, alright?" The black-haired beauty leaned her head on Lexi's shoulder in that way that best friend's do. Her hand reached up to rub her other shoulder comfortingly. "Just don't hold out on me. Don't shut us out."

"I won't." Lexi promised half-heartedly. Truthfully, that was all she wanted to do, to retreat within herself and begin to heal in solitude. But she couldn't tell Brittany that. She couldn't tell her that she wanted to be alone, to push her away and leave her wondering how she was doing. Besides, since she was staying with her family for the time being, it would be a bit difficult to do that anyways. Best to just stick it through until she was physically healed, and in a better place to begin that recovery process.

They sat there for who knows how long, just staring at the decorative flowers surrounding where Nana's casket used to be, her picture propped up on a stand. It was of sometime years back, before a time Lexi could remember. She smiled widely in absolute happiness, and Lexi wished she knew what had caused her to be so happy that day, what had made her smile to brightly.

It was some time later that Lexi tapped Brittany on the shoulder, and she turned in her wheelchair towards the door to the funeral home, heading towards her truck parked outside where Brittany's parents were waiting for them.

Lexi risked only one last glance behind her to see the picture, before exiting the building and into the bright light.

* * *

**_TWO YEARS LATER_ **

"…No, Travis, I already have plans tonight." Lexi said into her phone which was propped up on her shoulder precariously as she dig in her purse for her apartment keys. With the bags of groceries hanging from her arms, weighing them down, this was considerably more difficult to do.

"No, I told you-No…You're not listening to me." She continued into the phone, shaking her head with rolled eyes. "I'm not going to a party, no matter how 'epic' it's going to be."

Hearing the exasperation of her boyfriend's voice on the other line, at the same time as unlocking her door, Lexi pushed through into her apartment with a heavy sigh of her own. His incessant nagging about the issue was getting on her nerves.

"So what? You don't go to my work parties because of the same reason." She countered, kicking the door closed behind her and hurrying to set her bags of food onto her kitchen counter. The room was dark, but she flicked the lights on as she passed by.

"Well, tell your friends I don't care what they think." Lexi's voice was getting more and more annoyed by the minute, hearing all of Travis' excuses and pleads for her to go. "For the last time, no."

After several moments, she shook her head, before hanging up without another word, having had enough of her problematic boyfriend for one night. It was times like this that she wondered why she put up with him.

He wasn't a bad person, he just got on her nerves like nothing else.

Having deposited her stuff on the kitchen counter, Lexi made her way to her bedroom, flinging her shoes off vaguely in the direction of her closet, before dumping her purse onto the bed. Sighing in relief, she plopped down beside it and lay back with her arms spread out on either side.

Opening her eyes, she stared up at the ceiling, painted a soft blue, her favorite color, the color of the sky, and the rolling ocean. With a groan, she rose up from her position on the bed and back onto her feet, heading towards the bathroom connected to her room.

After freshening up and changing into her pajamas, Lexi padded barefoot back into her room, turning on the tv and grabbing the remote. On her way back to the bed, she stopped by the shelf jutting out from the wall, holding her most valuable possessions.

A pristine, triangular-folded flag. The colors had faded just a little from the bright blue and white they used to be, but it still looked fresh, well taken care of, and overall loved. It was a constant reminder to her to always keep fighting, keep looking forwards towards the future, and never back down.

Beside it sat a picture of her and a black-haired young woman, smiling brightly as they scooted in for a picture. The occasion was lost in time, but the happiness that it portrayed meant it must have been some sort of special event, something out of the ordinary. The friend she long missed, having not seen her for several years, reminded her to always keep smiling.

Lastly, looking decidedly more worn than the other two items on the shelf, was a hat. Nothing fancy, just a simple white, furry, black-spotted hat. From a first glance, it wouldn't have struck you as something of extreme importance. The picture and the flag, it was foreseeable, but the hat? What made it so important?

Lexi allowed herself the brief moment of weakness, her fingers reaching up to ghost over the furry fabric, remembering the way it had kept her head warm on a particularly rainy night so long ago, and the way it's owner had to kindly let her borrow it. The fibers were soft beneath her fingers, but she was careful not to pull too hard or damage it. That was the absolute last thing she'd want to do. Because it may not look it, but it was by far the most important item on her shelf of memories.

It was her ever-present reminder that this was her home, and that even though the grass may be greener on the other side, it was best to stick to one's roots. Smiling to herself, Lexi let out a deep breath and moved off towards her bed again, laying down to watch her favorite show, pushing the memories, both good and bad, back into her mind to dwell on another day.


End file.
